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Families whose relatives laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue details a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't 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 residents worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view 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

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to consider this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some are calling for more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.