🔗 Share this article

Families of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to tackle the problem is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

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

A recent report on the issue details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure locations. Officials maintain it is for the community to decide how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Further up the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

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

Some want additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“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 all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

He added there was ample time to weigh all the options. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

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

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.