🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion state that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation details a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people 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 isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to think this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. 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. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need good local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.