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Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion state that indecision over how to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the issue details a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

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

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

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.

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

In her view, new interments 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 timely resolution 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 handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families are calling for more sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

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

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to find the right answers for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.