🔗 Share this article

Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

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

A recent report on the issue details a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to 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 worry 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,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to think this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Some are calling for more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

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

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive community discussions to find the right solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.