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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 problem is creating unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the issue sets out a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to be their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, including 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 washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His mother expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new interments 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 early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

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

Some want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to continue for now. Others contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need productive community discussions to find the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.