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Families whose relatives buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear 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,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to think this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation 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 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 decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need good community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual perspective on the temporal loss of sacred ground.