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Loved ones of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to address the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

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

Projections suggest at least part of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear 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.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the shoreline is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving abroad. His mother expressed she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

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

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families are calling for additional coastal protections to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit funerals to continue for now. Others argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns 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 right answers for each community.”

The possibility of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in life after death, providing a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of sacred ground.