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Loved ones of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation details a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

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

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to consider this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

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

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction 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 starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to find the right answers for each village.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.