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Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

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

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner 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 sea. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

An absence of agreement over when and how to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some are calling for more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need good local conversations to discover the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.