🔗 Share this article

Loved ones of people laid to rest in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat argue that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They wanted this to be their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

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

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

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

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

Several families want more sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty 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 local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to find the right answers for each village.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.