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Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the issue details a range 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.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider 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 settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother expressed she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

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

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to find the appropriate answers for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological viewpoint on the physical loss of hallowed earth.