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Families of people buried in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while serving overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

The lack of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

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

A local official confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that process with communities.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good local conversations to find the right solutions for each village.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.