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Loved ones of people laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision over how to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

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

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to think this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some want additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Others contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need good local conversations to find the appropriate answers for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a theological perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.