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Loved ones of people laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that indecision on how best to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation details a series of possible actions, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer locations. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

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

Projections suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be moved.

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

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

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to choose the path to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the choices. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

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

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.