Families' Distress Over Shoreline Degradation Threatening Coastal Norfolk Burial Sites

Families of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue details a range of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His parent said she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Others contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.