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Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision over how to tackle the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

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

Projections suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His parent said she lost sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Others argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

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

The possibility of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.