🔗 Share this article

Families of people laid to rest in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

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

A recent report on the situation details a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by 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 consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely 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. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother expressed she lost sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should stop 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 early decision needs to 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 bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some are calling for more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the right solutions for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.