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Loved ones of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. 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 part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Along the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while working overseas. His parent said she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. We need good local conversations to find the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.