🔗 Share this article

Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

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

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People 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 at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Along the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

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

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation 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 taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official said the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need good local conversations to find the right answers for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.