🔗 Share this article

Families of people buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for the community to decide 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 isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey 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 solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of hallowed earth.