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Families of people laid to rest in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat state that indecision over how to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Officials maintain it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “What I would choose for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some want more sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the options. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the right answers for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the physical loss of sacred ground.