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Loved ones of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

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

Projections indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider 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 vanished into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

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

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Others argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

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

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

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

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to find the right answers for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of hallowed earth.