Families' Heartache Regarding Shoreline Degradation Threatening Coastal Norfolk Burial Sites

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

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to be 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 waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

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

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

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

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.