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Families of people laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion state that indecision on how best to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue details a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves 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 disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want more sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

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

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the path to take. Our role is 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 begins getting lost.”

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

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.