Families' Anguish Over Coastal Degradation Endangering Coastal Norfolk Graves

Loved ones of people buried in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

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 consumed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with 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 carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to think this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon 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 critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.