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Families whose relatives buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Churchyards

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

A recent report on the issue details a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

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

Haunted by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to discover the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.