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Loved ones of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to 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 locals worry it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

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

“It does trouble me to think this won’t be his lasting resting place,” 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 watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Some are calling for more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the right solutions for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.