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Families of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

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

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for the community to decide how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections 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 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 childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

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

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the problem has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Some want additional sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue 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 uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with communities.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.