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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision over how to tackle the issue is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the situation details a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

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

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

Seeking Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.