From Parish Pews to Pixels – new digitised records accessible for library customers

Suffolk Community Libraries customers can now access millions of local records dating back to 1538 when they visit a library.

Suffolk County Council’s Suffolk Archives have been working with leading family history platform Ancestry on a new digitisation project.

This project means anyone with a Suffolk Community Libraries account can access the newly digitised records for free on a library computer in any of Suffolk’s 45 libraries.

More than 400 years of the county’s rich historical heritage are now at your fingertips. Records digitised include full-colour, high-quality digital images of parish registers from across the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. They include key historical moments like the 1776 baptism of the artist John Constable and the 1846 burial of abolitionist Thomas Clarkson.

Until now, these baptism, marriage, confirmation and burial records were only available on microfiche or in-person.

Anyone with a library card can access the full version of Ancestry for free at a library in Suffolk. People can also access the records for free at The Hold in Ipswich – the home of Suffolk Archives. Anyone with a full Ancestry subscription can view the records at home for free.

Ancestry is one of several geneaology and family history services including Find My Past, BFI Replay and British Newspaper Archive which you can access for free from library computers. For more information visit the Suffolk Community Libraries genealogy and family history web pages.

The new records can be accessed via the normal search facility on Ancestry when you’re on a library computer.

Councillor Philip Faircloth-Mutton Cabinet Member for Environment, Communities and Equality said:

“This project is a fantastic step forward in making Suffolk’s rich history more accessible. Whether you’re overseas, have mobility challenges, or simply prefer to research from home, these records are now just a click away.

“By digitising these documents, we’re not only preserving them for future generations but also helping people reconnect with their heritage. I hope this sparks even more interest in the stories held by Suffolk Archives.”

Simon Pearce, family history expert at Ancestry said:

“Ancestry’s digitised collections now exceed 65 billion records, meaning the possibilities to research ancestors around the globe continue to expand. Collections such as this important set of records from Suffolk will help us discover more information about the key events in our ancestors’ lives and help to fill in the gaps in many family trees with connections to Suffolk. The collection is of huge importance to both the community in Suffolk and people with connections back to this county scattered all over the UK and the globe.”

For more information visit the Suffolk County Council website.