Relatives' Heartache Regarding Coastal Erosion Threatening Coastal Norfolk Burial Sites

Loved ones of people laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the situation details a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

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

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

Troubled by the Past

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

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones 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 happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

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

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

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the temporal loss of sacred ground.