🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives buried in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that indecision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to proceed 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 uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official said 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 help support them through that process with communities.”

He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need productive local conversations to find the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.