Relatives' Heartache Regarding Shoreline Erosion Threatening Coastal Norfolk Burial Sites
Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion state that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.
An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards
Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.
A recent report on the issue sets out a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials say 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 wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”
Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea 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 consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.
Haunted by the Past
A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.
“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”
“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”
A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy
Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be relocated.
“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”
She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”
Searching for Solutions and Clarity
An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.
Some want additional sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals 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 thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”
A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”
It was also stated there was time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”
“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires productive community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”
The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in resurrection, offering a spiritual perspective on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.
