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Loved ones of people laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some want additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices contend the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists 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 churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.