🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat argue that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is creating unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view 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

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving overseas. His parent expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the right answers for each village.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.