🔗 Share this article

Families of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision over how to tackle the issue is creating avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

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

A recent report on the situation details a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community 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 encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one churchyard could fall into 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 occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

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

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

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some want additional sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

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

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was time to weigh all the options. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.