🔗 Share this article

Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They wanted this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to 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. People will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

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

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

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

The possibility of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.