Collapsed road at Happisburg. Happisburgh's sandy cliffs have been eroding since the Ice Age though man-made sea defences, below the cliffs, installed after the 1953 floods slowed the rate of erosion but have been failing since the 1980's. The cliffs comprise layers of sand and clay which are eroded both by the sea on one side and rain water run-off from behind. During the long winter 2012-2013 the cliffs lost 20 meters in places. Happisburgh is a historic village on the north-east coast of Norfolk. Pronounced "Haze-bruh", and spelt 'Hapesburg' in the Domesday Book, the name means 'Haep's Town'.