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Families of people laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the issue sets out a series of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure sites. Officials maintain it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They wanted this to be their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

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

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to consider 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 premature to disturb existing graves. “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 Answers and Clarity

An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official said the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

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

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

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.