Relatives' Anguish Over Shoreline Erosion Endangering Norfolk Graves
Families of people buried in graves at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision over how to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their departed family.
An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards
The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.
A recent report on the situation details a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.
“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”
Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry 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,” a farmer stated.
Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles
One resident remembered a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.
“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”
“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”
A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril
Along the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be relocated.
“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”
She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”
Searching for Answers and Certainty
An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.
Some are calling for more coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to continue for now. Others contend the time for relocation is drawing near.
“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”
A local official said the burial sites were owned and managed 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 residents.”
He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”
“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”
The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.
