Families' Heartache Over Coastal Degradation Threatening Coastal Norfolk Burial Sites

Families of people buried in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to proceed for now. Different voices contend the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was time to consider all the choices. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a spiritual perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.