Beccles, Suffolk Genealogy

Guide to Beccles, Suffolk ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
Beccles is a town, a parish, and a subdistrict, in Wangford district, Suffolk county. The town is on the river Waveney, and on the Eastern Counties railway, it is 8½ miles W of Lowestoft. The town has chapels for Independents, Baptists, and Methodists.

Refer to the works listed in Suffolk Gazetteers or England Gazetteers for source material.

Find Neighboring Parishes
Use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map
 * Type the name of the parish in the search bar
 * Click on the location pin on the map
 * Choose Options from the pop up box
 * Click "List Contiguous Parishes" to find the neighboring parishes

If you live in Suffolk you will have access to a variety of resources at local archives and libraries. For those who live further afield, one can access microfilm and online records at Family History Centres. Refer to and  in the FamilySearch Catalogue for available records.

Civil Registration
Beccles was in Wangford district. To search an index of Wangford district records go to FreeBMD. The Suffolk Civil Registration article provides more details about these records. Civil Registration began in 1837.

Church Records
The Church of England (Anglican) became the official state religion in 1534, with the reigning monarch as its Supreme Governor. Non-Conformist refers to all other religious denominations that are not the official state religion.

Church of England
Due to the increasing access of online records: Hover over the collection's title for more information Other Websites These databases have incomplete parish coverage.
 * Individual parish coverage for databases in this table are inconsistent and should be verified
 * Dates in the following table are approximate
 * Joiner Marriage Index - Suffolk ($)
 * The Genealogist Parish Registers - Suffolk ($)
 * UK Websites for Parish Records - Links to online genealogical records
 * Online Genealogical Index - Links to online genealogical records

Cemetery: Municipal

 * Beccles Cemetery Records Surname Index: Courtesy of the Waveny District Council

Census
There are census records available for Beccles from 1841 to 1911. Census records are available on a variety of subscription and other websites. If you need to consult the 1841 to 1891 census on microfilm, refer to in the catalogue. There is statistical data available for the census years 1801 to 1931 that records the number of houses, families, people, and other statistical data for every parish in Suffolk. Refer to the Suffolk Census wiki article for details about the Census.

Probate Records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Suffolk Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain