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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to be their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble 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 cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”

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

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a theological perspective on the temporal loss of sacred ground.