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Families of people buried in graves vulnerable to shoreline retreat state that indecision over how to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

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

A recent report on the issue sets out a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure sites. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

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

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view 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 largely vanished into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the coast lies the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “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

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

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

“The situation is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.