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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision over how to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards 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 situation sets out a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

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

Some are calling for more coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to proceed 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 implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the right solutions for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.