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Families of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision over how to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue sets out a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves 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 look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some are calling for additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

He added there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need good community discussions to find the right answers for each village.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.