🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision over how to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Officials maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Others argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.