Families' Distress Over Coastal Degradation Endangering Norfolk Burial Sites
Loved ones of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.
A Looming Threat to Historic Churchyards
The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.
A newly published study on the situation details a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Officials maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.
“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”
Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.
Haunted by the Past
A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, along with its church and graveyard.
“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”
“I’m worried 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 Jeopardy
Further up the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His parent said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.
“It truly 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 interments should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”
Searching for Solutions and Certainty
An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.
Some are calling for more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is approaching.
“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “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 accountable.”
A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”
He added there was time to consider all the options. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”
“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to find the right solutions for each community.”
The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological viewpoint on the physical loss of hallowed earth.