🔗 Share this article

Families whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to tackle the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation details a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for the community to decide how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard 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 less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves looking for treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to consider this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

The lack of consensus over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to proceed for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”

He added there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.