Relatives' Distress Over Coastal Degradation Threatening Coastal Norfolk Burial Sites
Families whose relatives buried in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to address the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.
An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards
Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.
A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.
“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”
Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 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 village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.
“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”
“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”
A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy
Along the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.
“It does trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”
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 needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”
Seeking Answers and Certainty
An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.
Some want additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is approaching.
“The situation 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 everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”
A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with residents.”
He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”
“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to find the appropriate answers for each community.”
The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.