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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Ancient Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the situation details a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They intended this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with 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. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Others argue the time for moving graves is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

He added there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.