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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

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

“It does disturb me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

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

Some want additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need good community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.