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Loved ones of people buried in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Ancient Graveyards

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

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into 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 consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need good community discussions to find the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.