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Families whose relatives laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen far earlier. “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.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, along with 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 sea. They won’t. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His parent said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official 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. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.