🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

One resident recalled a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including 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. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Further up the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

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

Some are calling for more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the time for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the right answers for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.