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Families of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat state that indecision on how best to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 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 school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, 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 owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

He added there was time to weigh all the options. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. We need good local conversations to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.