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Families of people buried in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat state that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His parent expressed she could not 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 stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

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

Several families want additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for moving graves 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 everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

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

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

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a theological viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.