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Families whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat state that indecision over how to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

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

A recent report on the situation details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

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

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into 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 look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His parent said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his permanent resting place,” 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 take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for moving graves is approaching.

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

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to find the appropriate answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a theological viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.