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Families of people laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion state that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue sets out a series 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.

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

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want additional coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.