🔗 Share this article

Loved ones of people laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation details a series of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials maintain it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some are calling for additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need good local conversations to discover the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.