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Families whose relatives laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is creating unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials say it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

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

Estimates indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely disappeared into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves looking for valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the same thing that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Peril

Along the coast is situated the grave of a ex-soldier who died while working abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the problem has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Some want more sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to proceed for now. Others contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

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

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need good community discussions to find the right answers for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was labeled one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, providing a theological viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.