Families' Distress Over Coastal Erosion Threatening Norfolk Graves
Families of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that indecision on how best to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.
An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards
Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.
A recent report on the issue sets out a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.
“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”
Projections suggest at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry 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
A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.
“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”
“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”
A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril
Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving abroad. His parent said she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.
“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”
She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “My preference 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 the timing and method to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.
Several families want more coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is drawing near.
“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”
A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with residents.”
It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”
“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the right answers for each village.”
The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological viewpoint on the physical loss of hallowed earth.
