🔗 Share this article

Families whose relatives buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley 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 options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure locations. Officials maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the 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 much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including 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 washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His parent said she lost sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Others argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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 be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.