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Families of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation details a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Officials maintain it is for the community to decide how to proceed.

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

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

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

Several families are calling for more sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

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

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with communities.”

He added there was time to weigh all the options. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need good community discussions to find the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.