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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to consider this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want more sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Others contend the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, 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 graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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

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

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.