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Loved ones of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

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

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

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

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to consider this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

The lack of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want additional sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the time 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 implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official said the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.