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Families of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Officials maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

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

Projections indicate at least a portion 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 less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while serving overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to think this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.