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Loved ones whose relatives buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother said she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation 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 everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need productive local conversations to find the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.