🔗 Share this article

Families whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat argue that a lack of decision over how to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

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

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a school trip 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 romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Some want additional sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Others contend the moment 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 avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the options. “We are talking many years 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 the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.