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Loved ones of people laid to rest in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat state that a lack of decision over how to tackle the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue details a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

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

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

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

Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need good local conversations to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.