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Families of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the issue sets out a series of options, 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.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

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

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.

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

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

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

Some want additional sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is approaching.

“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 everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated 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 be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.