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Families of people buried in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

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

Projections indicate at least a portion of one churchyard 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 look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want more sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official said the graveyards 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 choices. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires good community discussions to find the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.