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Loved ones of people laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion state that indecision over how to address the issue is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the issue sets out a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Some are calling for more coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

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

He added there was ample time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. We need productive local conversations to find the appropriate answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.