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Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision over how to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Officials say it is for the community to decide how to proceed.

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

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think 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 nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to 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. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is premature 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.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Others contend the time for moving graves is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties 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. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

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

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