Families' Distress Over Shoreline Erosion Endangering Norfolk Graves
Families whose relatives laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.
An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards
The council have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.
A recent report on the issue details a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for the community to decide how to move forward.
“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”
Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.
Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles
One resident remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.
“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. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”
“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”
A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy
Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.
“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”
She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing 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 handle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.
Several families are calling for additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.
“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”
A local official said the graveyards 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 communities.”
He added there was time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”
“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need productive local conversations to discover the right answers for each village.”
The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.