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Families whose relatives buried in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat state that indecision over how to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to think this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

An absence of agreement over when and how to tackle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

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

A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.