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Loved ones of people laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation details a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“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 encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view 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 remembered a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, along with 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. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to think this won’t be 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 exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Some are calling for additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.