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Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue sets out a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive local conversations to discover the right answers for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.