Families whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat state that indecision on how best to tackle the problem is creating unnecessary distress concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.
Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.
A newly published study on the issue sets out a range of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer sites. Officials say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.
“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They wanted this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”
Estimates suggest at least a portion of one churchyard 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 under 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.
One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.
“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves looking for treasures. It’s completely undignified.”
“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”
Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.
“It does trouble me to consider this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”
She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been reached.”
An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.
Several families want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.
“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 all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”
A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is down to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”
He added there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”
“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need productive local conversations 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 local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.
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