🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into 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 consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring village 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. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His mother expressed she lost sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “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 attained.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is drawing near.

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

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need good local conversations to find the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect 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 belief in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.