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Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

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

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample 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. We need productive local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.