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Families whose relatives buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A recent report on the issue details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. Officials maintain it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by 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 look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go grave robbing in search of valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the shoreline is situated the grave of a former paratrooper killed while serving overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly disturb me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “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.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families are calling for more sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for moving graves is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the church authorities. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the choices. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

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

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in life after death, offering a theological viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.