🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Officials maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while working overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.