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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

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

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared 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. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to think this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices contend the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“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 everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official said the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the options. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to find the right solutions for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.