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Families of people laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

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

A recent report on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents intended this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

The lack of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

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

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

He added 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 happen yet. We need good local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.