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Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision over how to tackle the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

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

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates 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 far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier killed while working overseas. His parent said she lost sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new interments 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 timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

The lack of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Different voices contend the time for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, offering a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.