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Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion state that indecision on how best to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

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

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the waves 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 occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to think this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should stop 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 tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

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

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires good community discussions to discover the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.