Families' Heartache Regarding Coastal Degradation Endangering Norfolk Burial Sites

Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat state that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

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

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard 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 less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to think this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some want more sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official said the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.