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Families whose relatives buried in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision over how to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. 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 intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want more sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Others contend the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official said the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.