Norwich St Swithin, Norfolk Genealogy

History
St Benedict Street has four medieval churches, and there are three more on adjacent Pottergate, so it is no surprise that some of them are surplus to requirements; in fact, all seven are now redundant. St Swithin is one of the smallest, but it was already derelict in the 19th century. The tall, elegant tower, with the porch built directly into its south side, was taken down as unsafe in the 1880s, and the church was closed shortly afterwards, It underwent subsequent restoration but couldn't last, and by the Second World War St Swithin was redundant again. It escaped the blitz, despite nearby St Benedict being destroyed. After the war, as with many Norwich churches, St Swithin was left to rot, being used as a furniture warehouse, until it was born again in the 1980s as the Norwich Arts Centre.

Church Records
Due to the proximity of St Margaret's and the fortune of St Swithin's church over centuries the parishes were amalgamated for the purpose of record keeping. It is necessary to view the Norwich St Margaret, Norfolk images on FamilySearch to view the records of St Margaret with St Swithin.

The Arrangement of parish registers at Norfolk Record Office is a separate register series for each parish.

Census Records
FamilySearch Records includes collections of census indexes which can be searched online for free. In addition FamilySearch Centres offer free access to images of the England and Wales Census through FHC Portal: Computers here have access to the Family History Centre Portal page which gives free access to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.

to locate local Family History Centres in UK

to locate outside UK.

Many archives and local history collections in public libraries in England and Wales offer online census searches and also hold microfilm or fiche census returns.

Images of the census for 1841-1891 can be viewed in census collections at Ancestry (fee payable) or Find My Past (fee payable)

The 1851 census of England and Wales attempted to identify religious places of worship in addition to the household survey census returns.

Ancestry UK Census Collection

Find my Past census search 1841-1901

for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Prior to the 1911 census the household schedule was destroyed and only the enumerator's schedule survives.

The 1911 census of England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday 2 April 1911 and in addition to households and institutions such as prisons and workhouses, canal boats merchant ships and naval vessels it attempted to include homeless persons. The schedule was completed by an individual and for the first time both this record and the enumerator's schedule were preserved. Two forms of boycott of the census by women are possible due to frustration at government failure to grant women the universal right to vote in parliamentary and local elections. The schedule either records a protest by failure to complete the form in respect of the women in the household or women are absent due to organisation of groups of women staying away from home for the whole night. Research estimates that several thousand women are not found by census search. Find my Past 1911 census search

Poor Law Unions
Norwich Poor Law Union

See also England Norfolk Poor Law Union Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Norfolk Poor Law Unions

Registration Districts

 * Norwich

Maps
England Jurisdictions 1851