🔗 Share this article

Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat state that indecision on how best to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His parent said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be relocated.

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

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “What I would choose 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 Answers and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some want more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to find the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.