Researching a Norfolk parish church

Getting started

If you are interested in researching a parish church, the best way to begin is by looking at published information.

Many churches have produced guides and histories, often available to purchase from the church itself.

There may also be a copy on our searchroom shelves at the Norfolk Record Office (NRO) or at the Norfolk Heritage Centre (NHC).

Many of the books listed at the end of this guide, such as those by Blomefield, Bryant and Cautley, include sections on Norfolk churches, as do the websites Norfolk Churches and Norfolk Heritage Explorer.

Sources at NRO and NROCAT

Sources at NRO

We hold ecclesiastical records of the Diocese of Norwich, the archdeaconries of Norfolk, Norwich and Lynn, the Dean and Chapter of Norwich and more than 700 parish churches in Norfolk and the deanery of Lothingland in Suffolk.

Parishes in the west of the county (now in the deanery of Fincham and Feltwell) were transferred to the Diocese of Ely in 1914. Diocesan records for these churches from about 1914 onwards are held at Cambridge University Library.

We do however hold the parish records for these churches, with the exception of parishes in the deanery of Wisbech Lynn Marshland, which are at the Wisbech and Fenland Museum.

Suffolk was part of the Diocese of Norwich until 1837, so many diocesan series include records relating to Suffolk parishes until this date. However, Suffolk records from some series (such as tithe maps and glebe terriers) have been transferred to Suffolk Record Office.

The Deanery of Lothingland remains in the Diocese of Norwich and diocesan records for these parishes (located in and around Lowestoft) are with us.

Please contact us if you are unsure whether the records you wish to see are held by us or are elsewhere.

Online catalogue

Our online catalogue describes most of the records we hold and gives their catalogue reference numbers.

To see a list of the parish records belonging to your church, follow the link 'Ecclesiastical Parish Records - find a Church of England parish collection' from the catalogue homepage.

For details and availability of the other sources listed in this guide, go to the online catalogue and select an advanced search. In the search box, enter the catalogue reference for the series of documents (e.g. "DN/TER" for glebe terriers). Note that the reference must be enclosed in double quotes. You can narrow the number of results by clicking the 'Add criteria' button and adding in a keyword (e.g. a parish name) or by entering dates in the date range boxes.

Bishop's registers and visitation records

Bishop's registers

Bishop's registers survive from 1299-1996, see list DN/REG. They record institutions to benefices (appointments of clergy) made by the Bishop of Norwich.

Entered in the earlier registers are copies of documents relating to other matters such as:

Appropriations
Presentations
Advowsons
Unions, disunions and consolidations of benefices
Church consecrations (however, there are very few of these)

An entry in the register can indicate the earliest presence of a parish church and its dedication.

The registers for 1299-1608 (except 1425-45) are indexed in DN/REG 17
Incumbents and patrons are also indexed in DN/REG 30-31, 35-36

Visitation records

The condition of the church building was reported at the bishop's and archdeacons' visitations.

Entries relating to the fabric can be found in the visitation process or comperta books and churchwardens' presentments.

For the visitations of the Bishop of Norwich, 1555 onwards, see lists DN/VIS and DN/VSM 9/3, DN/EST 58/4 and DN/MSC 1/24
For the visitations of the Archdeacon of Norfolk, 1560 onwards, see lists ANF 1 and 5
For the visitations of the Archdeacon of Norwich, 1533 onwards, see lists ANW 1-6, 11 and 16

These records are not usually indexed but visitations were held by deanery.

The Dean and Chapter and Castle Rising peculiars were exempt from the archdeacons' jurisdiction, though parishes of these peculiars often made a token appearance at the visitation of the Archdeacon of Norwich.

The Peculiar of Great Cressingham was exempt from the jurisdiction of both the bishop and archdeacons.

For the visitations of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter, 1664 onwards, see lists DCN 76 and PDC 1 and 3
For the Peculiar of Castle Rising, 1714 onwards, see lists ANW 29
For the Peculiar of Great Cressingham, 1684 onwards, see lists PGC 2 and 3

Consistory Court records and faculties

Consistory Court records

The Bishop's Consistory Court dealt with cases arising from the bishop's and archdeacons' visitations and other matters, such as dilapidations of church property and the misappropriation of church goods.

The act books (in Latin until 1733) cover 1508-1871; see list DN/ACT. They are not indexed and the sentence is not always recorded.
The deposition books are generally in English but survive for 1499-1788 only and are not indexed; see list DN/DEP. For an example, see the Rev E D Stone, Norwich Consistory Court depositions 1499-1512 and 1518-1530, Norfolk Record Society, x (Norwich, 1938).
The case papers, 1528-1989, are partly indexed by parish: see list DN/CON and DN/FCP.

Faculties

Faculties were granted by the bishop for the alteration or destruction of church buildings.

They are recorded in the faculty court books, which survive from 1633; see list DN/FCB. There is a printed index by parish in the searchroom catalogue.
For parishes in the Dean and Chapter Peculiar, see list DCN 77.

Earlier faculties relate mainly to bells, pews or the removal of lead from the church roof.
However, not all alterations or repairs were undertaken with the prior consent of the bishop until the mid-19th century or even later.

Faculty petitions and papers survive, with gaps, from c1638, and plans are included from the mid-19th century onwards: see list DN/FCP and DN/CON
Papers relating to faculties in DN/CON 128-241 (covering 1828-1956) have been catalogued in detail

To check whether there are papers in this series relating to your church, go to our online catalogue and search on your parish name in the Any Text field. At the same time, enter DN/CON in the catalogue reference field.

The catalogue for list DN/FCP does not state the parishes included in each bundle of papers. To search for papers for a particular parish, first consult the faculty court books to obtain the date of the work carried out, and then check through the bundle of papers for that year.

Contested faculties, usually involving pews, memorials, vaults or burial grounds, were brought before the Consistory Court.

Bonds to carry out the work permitted in the faculty and accounts for work completed survive for 1717-95 and 1836, with gaps: see list DN/FBA
From 1940, an archdeacon's certificate is required acknowledging the completion of work according to the faculty: see list DN/FBA

Under the Faculty Jurisdiction Measure 1964, archdeacons can authorise certain undertakings affecting the church fabric and these authorisations are filed with the faculty papers.

Consecration records, title deeds and glebe terriers

Consecration records and title deeds

Consecration registers, which survive from 1793, record the consecrations by the bishop of churches, chapels, mission halls and burial grounds: see list DN/CSR.

The consecration papers, 1784-1967, often include the title deeds and a plan of the site: see list DN/CSP. Some of the earlier consecration papers relate to consecrations recorded in the consistory court act books.

Other title papers to church sites are among the diocesan deeds series, c1675-1969 (for indexes see DN/ADR 26) and the augmentation deeds, 1621-1918 (see list DN/AUG)

Glebe terriers

These documents list the glebe land belonging to the church, giving its acreage and describing its location. They were compiled every few years.

Terriers often contain a description of the churchyard, parsonage house and parish charities, plus a list of church furnishings such as books, vestments and bells.

They survive for various dates from about 1556: see lists DN/TER and ANW 15

Terriers also survive among the parish records of individual churches, but the diocesan series is usually more complete.

The descriptions of the glebe land can be compared with the maps surveyed under the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act: see lists DN/TA and DE/TA
The minute book of the Norwich Diocesan Association for Building and Enlarging Churches, 1844-99, contains lists of grants made from 1836: see list DN/DAB

Quinquennial inspections and parish records

Quinquennial inspections

Under The Church Inspections Measure 1955, inspections of the church fabric should be carried out every five years by diocesan-appointed architects.

Quinquennial reports and details of subsequent work undertaken are in list DN/QQN and may also be found among the records of the parish church.

For inspections carried out by Michael and Sheila Gooch, see BR 179
For inspections by Andrew Anderson, see BR 323

Parish records

The rector was responsible for the upkeep of the chancel, while the churchwardens were responsible for the nave and tower.

Rector's accounts, together with receipts, vouchers, bills or restoration fund accounts, may survive among the benefice papers.

Churchwardens' accounts record expenditure on church maintenance.

Vestry minutes record the decisions of the vestry meeting concerning alteration or repair work to be supervised by the churchwardens.

From 1921, parochial church councils (PCCs) have been responsible for the care and maintenance of church buildings; for records see PCC minutes, accounts and other papers.

Parish collections may also include faculties, terriers, quinquennial inspection reports and plans and papers relating to church restoration.

Parish registers may contain incidental references to the church building, its mishaps and repairs.

Registers of briefs record collections for charitable purposes authorised by the Crown, including church rebuilding. These rarely survive, although lists of briefs are sometimes entered into parish registers.

The survival of all these records will vary between each parish and none will pre-date the 16th century, except, in very few cases, the churchwardens' accounts.

During the vacancy of a living the sequestrator became responsible for the chancel and its upkeep. For sequestration accounts see list DN/SEQ and the records of individual churches.

For further details see the list of parish records for your church. From the catalogue homepage follow the link 'Ecclesiastical Parish Records - find a Church of England parish collection'.

Wills, recording projects and other sources

Wills

Wills can be an invaluable documentary source, especially for the medieval period.

A church may have been altered, completely rebuilt or had a side chapel added by a legacy in a benefactor's will.

For the medieval period, see P Cattermole and S Cotton, Medieval Parish Church Building in Norfolk, Norfolk Archaeology, xxxviii (1983), pp235-279.

At the NRO we hold wills proved in Norfolk from 1370-1941. Some pre-1858 wills (particularly those of wealthy people) were proved by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC). For more information on how to access these, see our guide to wills and probate records.

Recording projects

About a third of Norfolk churchyards have been surveyed, many of them in the early 1980s by the Women's Institute.

The surveys are available at the NRO. They record the inscriptions on gravestones and other memorials and usually include a plan.

See the list of Churchyard Surveys on the searchroom shelves. Most of the surveys are also listed under reference SO/WI.
The Norfolk Family History Society also holds a large number of churchyard surveys which can be viewed at their library or online by members.
The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS) has recorded the furnishings of some parish churches in the Norwich Diocese. For more details, see list SO 163.

Other sources

Patrons' private papers may include accounts and other financial papers concerning the church fabric.

Antiquarian notes may describe the church building, its furnishings and inscriptions prior to a major restoration. For example:

Thomas Martin's collections of church notes, compiled in the 18th century (reference Rye MS 17)
A B Whittingham's papers (see lists MC 186 and DCN 131)

The NHC has a large collection of local photographs, dating from the 19th century onwards. Some of these photographs are available via Picture Norfolk. For slides and photographs of many Norfolk churches, see lists MC 365, MC 530 and MC 640.

The papers of architects such as Edward Boardman (see BR 35), Cecil Upcher (BR 37), Michael and Sheila Gooch (BR 179), and Andrew Anderson (BR 323) include church plans
Papers about the design of new stained glass and repairs to existing windows survive among records of G King and Son Ltd, lead glaziers of Norwich (see list KNG)

The Incorporated Church Building Society was founded in 1818 to provide funds to build and enlarge Anglican churches across England and Wales.

Among the society's records are more than 15,000 files relating to individual churches. These may include grant applications, correspondence, plans, building specifications and photographs. They are held at Lambeth Palace Library.