The authentic voice of Suffolk Folk

A new catalogue of over 700 oral history recordings, recently digitised thanks to a grant of £35,700 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Suffolk Voices Restored project, is now available on Suffolk Heritage Direct. The majority of these recordings were collected between 1985 and 1988 and include tapes produced by the Women’s Institute, Suffolk Local History Council, Eastern Angles Theatre Group, the Museum of East Anglian Life, Wickham Market Local History Society and the Ipswich and Norwich Co-operative Society. Further interviews were conducted to fill gaps in geographical and subject coverage creating a unique collection of Suffolk related sound recordings and oral reminiscences of life histories which preserve local words, dialects and customs. These stories are not available in standard history text books and supplement information found in the record office’s other archival and local studies sources thereby enabling researchers to gain a more rounded picture especially of agriculture, domestic service, the fishing industry, both World Wars and family life.

These ‘unofficial’ accounts of events and everyday life, both in Suffolk and further afield, told by those who witnessed them at first hand can be borrowed free of charge through any Suffolk Library.

Heraldry collection catalogue now online

A catalogue including some stunning images of the Corder collection is now available on Suffolk Heritage Direct. This collection was purchased for the county in 2006 through the generosity of local people, trusts and societies, as well as grants from national bodies such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, Friends of the National Libraries and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This collection of East Anglian Heraldic Manuscripts was brought together by Miss Joan Corder (1921-2005) and relates mainly to Suffolk but also covers Cambridgeshire, Essex and Norfolk. During the 1950s and 1960s she toured Suffolk churches photographing every monument, effigy and hatchment. Thanks to her work, Suffolk has a marvellous wealth of material for the study of genealogy, heraldry, arms and crests than any other county in the British Isles. Download our pdf for more details (599KB).

Want to find out more about the history of your community

Did you know that records capturing the history of local allotments, playing fields, village halls, war memorials and cemeteries, bus shelters, rights of way, coronations, jubilees and other celebrations, charities, council houses, schools, roads and bypasses and much more are to be found in Parish and Town Council Collections in Suffolk Record Office? You can now search on Suffolk Heritage Direct to find lists of what is held for your local community.

On the Family History Trail in Suffolk

Catalogues describing the contents of all Suffolk Record Office's 508 Parish collections some dating back to the 16th century can now be found on Suffolk Heritage Direct. Each collection is a treasure trove of information on its community. Apart from registers of baptisms, marriages, banns and burials you can expect to find other records which will help you to understand how your ancestors lived. These might include archives relating to the care of poorer inhabitants or the administration of local charities and the church school. Parish Magazines and rate books can also provide valuable information.