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Families whose relatives laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to be their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

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

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to consider this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want more sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

He added there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need good community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, offering a theological viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.