England, Norfolk, Archdeacon's Transcripts - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains images of baptismal, marriage, and burial records from the county of Norfolk and certain outlying parishes for the years 1600-1812. The original records are held at the Norfolk Record Office.

Archdeacon's transcripts, or bishop’s transcripts as they are more commonly called, contain more or less the same information as parish registers, so they can serve as a replacement when a parish register has been damaged, destroyed, or otherwise lost. Bishop's transcripts are often of value even when parish registers exist, as priests often recorded either additional or different information in their transcripts than they did in the original registers.

To learn more about the content and importance of bishop's transcripts, see the England Bishop's Transcripts page.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching, it is helpful to know: As you search, compare your results with this information to find a match.
 * Name of the person
 * Date of the record

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select County
 * 2) Select Parish
 * 3) Select Date Range
 * 4) Select Record Type to view the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy down all the information from the record.
 * Cite the record image. See below for help citing records in this collection.
 * If in the appropriate period, use the information you have found to find the individual in civil records. Particularly useful for research in nineteenth-century England are the England Census and civil registration records.
 * Find the associated parish register, if possible. See the Norfolk Parish Registers page for options.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives. Note that family members often appear on an individual's vital records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which individual is correct. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to determine which candidate is the correct person. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Try variations of given names and surnames. An individual might appear under a different name in a record for a variety of reasons:
 * - An individual might have been listed under a middle name, nickname, or abbreviation of their given name.
 * - Spelling was not standardized for much of the period of this collection, so names were often spelled as scribes heard them. Pay attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try spelling variations that could have that pronunciation.
 * - Some women returned to their maiden names after the death of their husbands.


 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of possible candidates which can then be examined for matches. Alternatively, try expanding the date range; this is especially useful in searching baptismal records, as it was not unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth.
 * Search the records of nearby locations. While a person in this period rarely lived more than 20 miles from their place of birth, moves within this range were common. For this collection, nearby locations could include parishes in the bordering counties of Suffolk to the south, Cambridgeshire to the west, or even Lincolnshire to the northeast.
 * Within the diocese, the Suffolk parishes in the Archdeaconry of Suffolk and County of Suffolk of Belton, Suffolk, Bradwell, Suffolk, Burgh Castle, Suffolk, Fritton, Suffolk, Gorleston, Suffolk transcripts are held at Suffolk Record Office.
 * Norwich transcripts are grouped together by year for ease of search. Exceptions include:
 * - Norwich St Helen, Norfolk as no transcripts survive prior to 1813
 * - Norwich St James with Pockthorpe, Norfolk, Norwich St Mary in the Marsh, Norfolk, Norwich St Paul, Norfolk each have their own Archdeacon Transcripts series.
 * - Great Yarmouth, Norfolk has some difficulty in reading the Archdeacon and Bishop's Transcripts series. For the years 1773-1841 the Record Office series Great Yarmouth Weekly Register Bills may be easier to use for research purposes. The Record Office series is available on microfiche.
 * - Castle Rising, Norfolk exceptionally has Archdeacon's transcripts beyond 1812; the years 1812-1818 are available.
 * - Great Cressingham, Norfolk has no surviving Archdeacon's transcripts.
 * - Thorpe St Andrew all transcripts were sent to the Bishop.
 * - The parish of Emneth, Norfolk was within the Wisbech deanery of the Diocese of Ely and therefore all archdeacon's and Bishop's Transcripts are located at the University of Cambridge Library with the holdings of Ely diocesan Archdeacon and Bishop's Transcripts.


 * The individual in question may not have records in the Church of England at all, but rather might have belonged to a nonconformist denomination. See England Nonconformist Church Records for more information.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

"England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. Citing Church of England. Record Office, Central Library, Norwich.
 * Collection Citation:

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