Relatives' Distress Over Coastal Degradation Endangering Norfolk Burial Sites

Families whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea 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 happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of consensus over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive community discussions to find the right answers for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in resurrection, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.