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Loved ones whose relatives laid to rest in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being consumed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a range of possible actions, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure locations. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

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

Projections suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his lasting resting place,” 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.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others contend 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 graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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

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

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.