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Loved ones of people buried in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion state that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into 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 consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

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

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference 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 Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want more coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, 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 local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to find the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.