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Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to think this may not remain his lasting home,” 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 exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

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

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

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up 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 weigh all the options. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need good community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.