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Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that indecision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation details a series of options, from taking no action 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 limbo. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their last home, but it won't 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 residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to consider this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Others argue the time for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “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 responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.