Relatives' Distress Regarding Coastal Degradation Threatening Coastal Norfolk Burial Sites
Families of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that indecision on how best to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their departed family.
A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards
Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.
A newly published study on the issue details a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.
“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”
Projections indicate 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. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.
Haunted by the Past
A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.
“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”
“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”
A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy
Along the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.
“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”
In her view, new interments should stop but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”
Searching for Solutions and Clarity
The lack of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.
Some are calling for additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is approaching.
“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “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 confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with residents.”
It was also stated there was time to consider all the options. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”
“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need good community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”
The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.