🔗 Share this article

Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat state that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

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

A newly published study on the situation details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “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 school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

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

Some want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is drawing near.

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

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need good local conversations to find the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the physical loss of hallowed earth.