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Families whose relatives buried in graves at risk from coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision on how best to address the issue is creating avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

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

A recent report on the situation sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

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

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals 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,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement 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 romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want more sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation 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 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 down to them to decide the path to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was time to consider all the options. “We are talking decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires productive community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of hallowed earth.