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Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat argue that a lack of decision over how to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

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

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves 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 look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

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

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It truly trouble me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some want more sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to continue for now. Others argue the time for moving graves is drawing near.

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

A local official said the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the options. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

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

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.