Families' Distress Regarding Coastal Erosion Threatening Coastal Norfolk Burial Sites

Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to think this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

An absence of agreement over when and how to tackle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Some are calling for additional sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for moving graves is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.