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Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. 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 churchyard could be claimed by 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,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered 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 human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

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

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

Searching for Answers and Clarity

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

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 relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive local conversations to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, providing a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.