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Families of people laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

The council 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 coming decades.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals 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 recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared 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 the ocean. They won’t. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “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 Certainty

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

Some want additional coastal protections to slow 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 council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official said the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the options. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need productive local conversations to discover the right answers for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.