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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Ancient Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the situation details a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. My parents wanted this to be their final resting place, 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 residents worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

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

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His parent said she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant place to go.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference 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.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

The lack of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some want additional coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow 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 uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. We need good local conversations to find the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.