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Loved ones of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Churchyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the situation details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

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

Projections suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons 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 ex-soldier killed while serving overseas. His parent expressed she lost sleep after learning her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant place to go.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were under the care 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 process with communities.”

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

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the appropriate answers for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.