🔗 Share this article

Families whose relatives laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion state that indecision on how best to address the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Churchyards

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

A recent report on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for valuables. That is 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 would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to think this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Others contend the time for moving graves is approaching.

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

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the options. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.