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Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham 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 doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“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 sea. That is not the case. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

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

Several families want more sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Others contend the moment 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 accountable.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the right answers for each village.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.