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Loved ones of people buried in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

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

A newly published study on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

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

Some want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

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

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the right solutions for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.