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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

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

A newly published study on the issue details a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. 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 churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper who died while serving abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb 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 interments should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

An absence of consensus over when and how to tackle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want more sea defences to slow the inevitable erosion and to permit burials to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotional,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to discover the right solutions for each community.”

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