Relatives' Distress Over Shoreline Erosion Endangering Coastal Norfolk Graves
Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.
A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards
Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.
A recent report on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.
“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 won't be because of the encroaching sea.”
Estimates 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 under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.
Troubled by the Past
A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.
“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”
“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”
A Soldier's Grave in Peril
Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.
“It does trouble me to consider this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”
She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”
Seeking Answers and Clarity
An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.
Some are calling for more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Others contend the time for relocation is approaching.
“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”
A local official confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”
It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”
“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good community discussions to find the right answers for each village.”
The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.