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Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue sets out a range of possible actions, 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 move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to 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 locals worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “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 confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

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

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.