Norfolk Record Office

Norfolk Record Office Welcome to the Norfolk Record Office page. This page will be updated regularly with information about our services and news of forthcoming events.

We operate from three venues and run events all over the county. It is free to come in and look at the records. Our main base is The Archive Centre, next to County Hall, but we also have resources and staff at Norfolk Heritage Centre inside the Millennium Library (also open until 8pm Mon-Fri and 9-5pm Sat) and at King's Lynn Borough Archive. You can also use some of our resources in local studies

libraries around the county, too. Norfolk Record Office preserves Norfolk records from the late eleventh century onwards and makes them accessible to everyone, for free. The Archives, comprising millions of documents, come from families and individuals, local authorities, churches, schools and hospitals. The National Archives (TNA) has awarded the NRO the status of a four-star archive, the highest rating, and approval as a record office which meets TNA’s Standard for Record Repositories. In 2005, the NRO’s entire archive collections were ‘Designated’ as being of outstanding national and international importance by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

Our Repackaging Group found this great building Control Plan from 1958 when the was built at 11 Gentlemans Walk. Did y...
06/06/2026

Our Repackaging Group found this great building Control Plan from 1958 when the was built at 11 Gentlemans Walk. Did you ever shop there?

This image of an arctic expedition by Samuel Gurney Cresswell shows the conditions in the arctic in the 1830s-50s, and m...
05/06/2026

This image of an arctic expedition by Samuel Gurney Cresswell shows the conditions in the arctic in the 1830s-50s, and may be useful in showing climate change today.

Sketch found by one of fantastic volunteers whilst cleaning Great Yarmouth Borough Port and Haven Commissioners records...
05/06/2026

Sketch found by one of fantastic volunteers whilst cleaning Great Yarmouth Borough Port and Haven Commissioners records (Y/PH 16/11) from the early 20thC. What do you think is going on?

This the Hall Marks project would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who is helping us achieve our ambition to digitall...
04/06/2026

This the Hall Marks project would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who is helping us achieve our ambition to digitally transcribe all entries from Norfolk’s tithe apportionments. Our aim is to make these available to view online next year, for free, for the first time.

Tithe maps were created for almost 700 Norfolk parishes between 1836 and 1850. A tithe apportionment accompanied each of these maps and lists landowners, occupiers, land uses and measurements of land areas (in acres, roods and perches). Altogether there are over half a million entries.

Our in-person and online volunteers have transcribed entries from 103 tithe apportionments so far. We are also very grateful for the donation from local history groups and other individuals of complete transcriptions taken from another 25 tithe apportionments.

When complete, the digital transcriptions will be a significant resource for anyone researching local history in Norfolk. We are very happy to say THANK YOU in advance.

The Hall Marks project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Hall Marks project is encouraging people to engage with the archives to uncover the stories of Norfolk’s lost countr...
03/06/2026

The Hall Marks project is encouraging people to engage with the archives to uncover the stories of Norfolk’s lost country houses. They didn’t come grander than Costessey Hall, the seat of the Jerningham’s, which was demolished in the 1920s.

We were very pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the history of the hall with Paul Cooper of the Costessey Memories group this morning. Paul has amassed an impressive collection of material relating to the hall and maintains a display of historic photographs at Costessey Library. He is also involved in the production of one of the most impressive 3D printed models we have seen.

We’d like to thank Paul for his time and for bringing along a section of the model for us to see. The chapel is only a part of the whole building, as the accompanying floor plan reveals. We are very excited to see the whole model complete. Watch this space!

It's never too late to learn to ride a bike, as these instructions from a journal owned by Leonard Bolingbroke show. The...
03/06/2026

It's never too late to learn to ride a bike, as these instructions from a journal owned by Leonard Bolingbroke show. They include using a 'friendly wall' to get your balance.

Volunteer Iona recently finished a mammoth 18-month task to index names in the Yarmouth gaol register 1838-1850 (Y/L 2/9...
02/06/2026

Volunteer Iona recently finished a mammoth 18-month task to index names in the Yarmouth gaol register 1838-1850 (Y/L 2/9) - 3,965 entries in all. She discovered prisoners who came from across Europe, the US, Canada and India, as well as Yarmouth and Norfolk. The youngest inmates were only 7 whilst the oldest was 82. They were accused of offences including pick pocketing, playing cards in the churchyard, debt, jumping ship, theft, smuggling, assault and murder. We’ll add her index to our catalogue, to help people discover more about their convict ancestors.

It may surprise you to know that no-one in this drawing by Hilda Zigomala had passed their driving test. That is becaus...
01/06/2026

It may surprise you to know that no-one in this drawing by Hilda Zigomala had passed their driving test. That is because it wasn't until just over 30 years later that in 1935 the first UK driving test took place. The test cost 37½ pence and the pass rate was 63%.

Research your family or house history - for FREE! Sat 6 June - Gorleston Library Sat 20 Jun - Great Yarmouth Library ...
01/06/2026

Research your family or house history - for FREE!

Sat 6 June - Gorleston Library
Sat 20 Jun - Great Yarmouth Library
Sat 13 Aug - Long Stratton Library
Sat 26 Sep - Thetford Library

Free. Booking essential: tinyurl.com/researchforfree

Made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund

01/06/2026

Research your family or house history - for FREE!

Sat 6 June - Gorleston Library
Sat 20 Jun - Great Yarmouth Library
Sat 13 Aug - Long Stratton Library
Sat 26 Sep - Thetford Library

Free. Booking essential: tinyurl.com/researchforfree

Made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Address

The Archive Centre, Martineau Lane
Norwich
NR12DQ

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm

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