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Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision over how to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials maintain it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the sea 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 consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the choices. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need good community discussions to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.