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Loved ones of people buried in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat state that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the issue sets out a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They wanted this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by 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 Past

One resident remembered a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Along the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His mother said she could not sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

An absence of agreement over when and how to tackle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to continue for now. Others argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official said the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

He added there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.