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Families of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion state that indecision on how best to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His parent said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to consider 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 premature to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some are calling for more sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

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

A local official confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need good local conversations to find the appropriate answers for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a theological perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.