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Families of people buried in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Historic Graveyards

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

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure sites. Officials maintain it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing looking for treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I fear that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some are calling for more coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

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

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.