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Loved ones of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

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 recent report on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

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

Projections suggest at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His parent said she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official said the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to find the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards 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.