🔗 Share this article

Families whose relatives buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat state that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one churchyard 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 happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to think this may not remain his lasting resting place,” 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 existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to tackle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody 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 up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

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

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to discover the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.