Families' Anguish Over Shoreline Degradation Endangering Coastal Norfolk Graves
Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat argue that a lack of decision over how to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their departed family.
A Looming Danger to Ancient Graveyards
The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.
A recent report on the issue sets out a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for the community to decide how to proceed.
“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to be their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”
Estimates indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.
Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles
One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with 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 washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”
“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”
A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy
Along the shoreline is situated the grave of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.
“It truly trouble me to think this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”
She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”
Searching for Answers and Clarity
An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.
Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is approaching.
“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”
A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down 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 ample time to weigh all the options. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”
“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to find the right answers for each village.”
The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.