Relatives' Distress Regarding Shoreline Erosion Endangering Norfolk Burial Sites
Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that indecision over how to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.
An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards
The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.
A recent report on the issue details a range of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.
“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”
Projections indicate at least part of one churchyard 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 look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.
Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles
A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.
“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”
“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”
A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril
Further up the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.
“It truly trouble me to consider this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”
She believes, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”
Seeking Answers and Clarity
The lack of agreement over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.
Some are calling for additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the time for moving graves is approaching.
“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”
A local official said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”
He added there was ample time to weigh all the options. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”
“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the right solutions for each village.”
The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.