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).

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.

  Anne Boleyn died. Famous for being Henry VIII's second wife and beheaded having been charged with treason. Rumour has ...
19/05/2026

Anne Boleyn died. Famous for being Henry VIII's second wife and beheaded having been charged with treason. Rumour has it that she was secretly buried in Salle Church in Norfolk under a black slab near the tombs of her ancestors. Read about the masque of Anne Boleyn on the NRO blog.

We’ve all heard the stories, the myths, the rhymes of King Henry VIII’s infamous second wife Anne Boleyn (Bullen), the beheading of a Queen that shocked the Tudor court in 1536. However, this blog …

To celebrate all things floral for   we have these pressed flowers inside a French exercise book from 1833.
19/05/2026

To celebrate all things floral for we have these pressed flowers inside a French exercise book from 1833.

Today for   here is a late 18th - early 19th century recipe for a Lemon Pudding. It starts 'Take 8 eggs leave out y(th)e...
17/05/2026

Today for here is a late 18th - early 19th century recipe for a Lemon Pudding. It starts 'Take 8 eggs leave out y(th)e whites off them beat them w(i)th the juice of 2 lemons'. &

3, 2, 1 and we are off, for the 70th edition of the   from  .  .  Here we have some early examples of Eurovision entries...
16/05/2026

3, 2, 1 and we are off, for the 70th edition of the from . . Here we have some early examples of Eurovision entries from Austria. Will the outfits tonight out do these?

This photograph shows the flower stall at the front of Norwich Market Place in the 1950s. How much has this view changed...
15/05/2026

This photograph shows the flower stall at the front of Norwich Market Place in the 1950s. How much has this view changed in the last 70 years? Love Your Local Market

We love this image of a miller outside Tacolneston Postmill by G. Colman Green, drawn during the great storm on 2 Februa...
14/05/2026

We love this image of a miller outside Tacolneston Postmill by G. Colman Green, drawn during the great storm on 2 February 1910. He walked 22 miles to draw this as it was said the windmill would not last much longer

📖 Gaywood Library - Saturday 16 May -  ‘Research your family or house history – for FREE’.🌳 Always wanted to know more a...
11/05/2026

📖 Gaywood Library - Saturday 16 May - ‘Research your family or house history – for FREE’.

🌳 Always wanted to know more about your ancestry or the history of your house but don't know where to start and don't want to spend a fortune? This session will provide pointers and a booklet of free resources to help you on your way.🏠

🕰️ Talks 10:30am and 1pm followed by 1-1 computer sessions.
Talks and sessions are free - booking is essential.

🔎 For more information and to book a place go to: https://buff.ly/6acRiYV

🗺️ Other dates and locations:
Gorleston Library (Sat 6 Jun), Great Yarmouth Library (Sat 20 Jun), Long Stratton Library (Sat 15 Aug), Thetford Library (Sat 26 Sep). Others TBA.

These sessions are provided by the Hall Marks project, 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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