🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

The council have singled out 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 range of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They wanted this to serve as 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 residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His mother expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

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

Some want additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” 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 church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”

He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to find the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.