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Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision over how to tackle the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

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

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Officials 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 final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard 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 under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared 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 carried away to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose 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 Answers and Clarity

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some want more sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the right answers for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.