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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion state that a lack of decision on how best to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the issue details a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to move forward.

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

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” 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 in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Peril

Further up the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new burials 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 timely resolution must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want more sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Others contend the time for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official said the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with residents.”

It was also stated there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need good community discussions to find the right answers for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.