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Families of people laid to rest in graves vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a range of options, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

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

Estimates suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry 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,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It does trouble me to think this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is premature to exhume 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 attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide 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 weigh all the choices. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.