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Loved ones of people buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion argue that indecision over how to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

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

A recent report on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Estimates suggest at least part of one graveyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working overseas. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the problem has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Some are calling for additional sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” 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 accountable.”

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 assist them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the choices. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good local conversations to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the physical loss of hallowed earth.