🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

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

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear 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.

Haunted by the Past

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have 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 plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires productive community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.