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Families whose relatives buried in resting places at risk from shoreline retreat argue that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being at risk of being swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

A recent report on the situation details a range of options, from doing nothing to exhuming remains and reburying them in safer locations. 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. They intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. They won’t. People will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while working overseas. His mother said she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be moved.

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

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the challenge has left bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some are calling for more sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

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

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires productive local conversations to find the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but church representatives also referenced a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.