🔗 Share this article

Loved ones of people laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that indecision over how to tackle the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

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

A recent report on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents 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,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” 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 collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “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.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over when and how to tackle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

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

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a theological perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.