Relatives' Distress Regarding Coastal Degradation Endangering Norfolk Burial Sites

Families of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They wanted this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Others contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. We need good community discussions to find the appropriate answers for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.