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Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision over how to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, 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 less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new burials 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 tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

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

A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires productive local conversations to find the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.