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Families of people buried in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision over how to tackle the problem is creating unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure locations. Officials maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

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

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper who died while working abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

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

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

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

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.