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Loved ones of people buried in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat state that indecision over how to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

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

A recent report on the issue sets out a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

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

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier killed while serving overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

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

Some are calling for more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was ample time to weigh 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 solutions for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the physical loss of hallowed earth.