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Loved ones whose relatives buried in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with 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 the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want more coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to proceed for now. Others contend the time for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report 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 confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is down to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

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

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the right answers for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.