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Families of people buried in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Ancient Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

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

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while working overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

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 be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.