Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat argue that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.
Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.
A newly published study on the issue details a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.
“At the moment we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to be their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”
Projections suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.
One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its place of worship and burial ground.
“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”
“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”
Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.
“It does trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”
She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”
An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.
Some are calling for additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.
“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”
A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is down to them to decide 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 weigh all the options. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”
“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. We need good community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”
The possibility of losing the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.
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