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Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham 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 doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

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

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

Haunted by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while serving overseas. His mother 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 permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

The lack of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want more sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good community discussions to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.