Families' Distress Regarding Shoreline Degradation Threatening Norfolk Burial Sites

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion state that indecision over how to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to think this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is drawing near.

“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 all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.