🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision on how best to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to be 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 sea in the next 80 years, but some locals 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,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“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 disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while serving overseas. His parent said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to think this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for moving graves is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

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

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to find the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.