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Loved ones of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision on how best to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate 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 less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His parent said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some are calling for more coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

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

He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the right answers for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.