🔗 Share this article

Families whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that indecision on how best to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being consumed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents intended this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “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 Past

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is premature 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 tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

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

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need good local conversations to discover the right answers for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.