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Loved ones of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat state that indecision over how to tackle the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

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

A newly published study on the issue details a series of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure locations. Officials say it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to consider this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive local conversations to find the right solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal loss of sacred ground.