🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat argue that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Graveyards

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

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

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by 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 consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper who died while working abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

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

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

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

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.