🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat argue that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others argue the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need good community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.