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Families of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation sets out a series of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely 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. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

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

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.