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Families whose relatives buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat argue that indecision over how to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Graveyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue sets out a series of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. My parents wanted this to serve as their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves 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 consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to consider this won’t be his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an early decision needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

An absence of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the time for relocation 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 avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down to them to decide the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that journey with residents.”

It was also stated there was time to consider all the options. “This concerns many years before it begins getting lost.”

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

The possibility of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.