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Families of people laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion state that indecision over how to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His parent said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family 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 early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the choices. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.