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Families of people buried in graves at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

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

A recent report on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into 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 consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

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

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official said the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

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

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the right solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.