Online Resources

Suffolk Archives provides access to a variety of online resources, some are which are also available in Suffolk Community Libraries.  Visit the library website for details of where to find your local library Home - Suffolk Community Libraries

Suffolk Archives website

This website includes some digitised content alongside the catalogues for archives.  This tends to be copies of maps, photographs, and other selected archives such as the record of civilian deaths in Lowestoft during World War Two.  Some of these are available free of charge whilst others can be purchased and downloaded.   

Ancestry 

We are working in partnership with Ancestry to digitise material that is of interest to family and local historians.  Archives available through the Ancestry website include:

  • parish registers for Suffolk
  • gaol books for Beccles, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Woodbridge

Bishop's Transcripts and marriage licences are due to be published in 2026 and probate records will follow in 2027.  

Ancestry also provides access to many other records including:

  • census records, 1841-1921
  • 1939 Register
  • indexes for birth, marriage and death records
  • parish registers for other counties
  • military records

There is free access to Ancestry (institution edition) at The Hold and all Suffolk Community Libraries.  

Find My Past

You can access school admission registers and logbooks for Suffolk, 1870-1914 through the Find My Past website.

They also provide access to many other records including:

  • census records, 1841-1921
  • 1939 Register
  • indexes for birth, marriage and death records
  • parish registers for other counties (Suffolk is only available through Ancestry)
  • Suffolk Family History Society transcripts of parish registers)
  • military records

There is free access to Find My Past at The Hold and all Suffolk Community Libraries

The Genealogist

Suffolk Archives has access to the Genealogist website which allows access to many records, including:

  • Tithe maps and apportionments for Suffolk
  • census records, 1941-1911
  • indexes for birth, marriage and death records
  • 1939 Register
  • military records
  • parish registers for other counties (Suffolk is only available through Ancestry)

Access to The Genealogist is free at The Hold but is not available through the libraries.  

British Newspaper Archive 

The BNA website provides access to digitised copies of newspapers across the county.  The coverage varies but the website is frequently updated so it's worth checking routinely to see if new material has been added.  

The website is free to access at The Hold and from Suffolk Community Libraries but you will need to create a free account.   

Catalogues

In addition to this website, you can also search for Suffolk material on The National Archives website, and the Manorial Documents Register.

The Manorial Documents Register is a comprehensive index to manorial archives relating to Suffolk.  It includes archives that are held at The Hold but also lists material held elsewhere.  You may find references to Suffolk Archives collections that don't yet appear on our catalogue.  Please contact us if you would like to access these records and we can provide you with advice.