🔗 Share this article

Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

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

Projections indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

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

Some want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study 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 said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with residents.”

He added there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The possibility 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 life after death, offering a spiritual perspective on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.