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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision over how to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue details a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain 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 last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated 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.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. 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 decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.