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Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision over how to tackle the problem is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being consumed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry 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.

Troubled by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to think this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

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

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need good community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual perspective on the temporal loss of sacred ground.