🔗 Share this article

Families of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They wanted this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves 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,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His parent said she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to consider this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should stop 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 tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Some are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to continue for now. Others contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.