Suffolk Societies

Family history societies often publish helpful journals, transcripts, compiled genealogies and host helpful websites. They may have ongoing projects to transcribe records and create indexes. Most societies publish queries in their journals and maintain lists of members’ research interests that may be helpful to you. You may want to join one of these societies, reap the benefits of their expertise and resources, or support its efforts.

Addresses of the societies are for the most part where their meetings are held as they are by-and-large not brick-and-mortar institutions.

Alde Valley Suffolk Family History Group Leiston United Reformed Church 5 Sylvester Rd Leiston, Suffolk IP16 4BH UK Telephone: 01728 830949 Email: [mailto:avsfhg@tgms.demon.co.uk avsfhg@tgms.demon.co.uk] Email #2: [mailto:a_skelcher@hotmail.com a_skelcher@hotmail.com] Website: Alde Valley Suffolk Family History Group


 * Our aim is to promote the study of family history in East Suffolk in particular and to provide support and help for those wishing to trace their family history outside the area. We cater not only for those who wish to research their local family history but also for those now living in Suffolk whose ancestors were from out of the county.

Aldeburgh and District Local History Society Aldeburgh Church Hall Victoria Rd Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5DU UK Telephone: 01728 452611 Website: Aldeburgh and District Local History Society


 * The Society is concerned with the local history of the area covered by Aldeburgh, Thorpeness, Leiston, Snape, Iken, and Sudbourne in Suffolk, England.

Beccles & District Historical Society Hungate Church Hungate Cottage Hungate Ln Beccles, Suffolk NR34 9TN UK Telephone: 01502 717086 Email: [mailto:aa35rl@btinternet.com aa35rl@btinternet.com] Website: Beccles & District Historical Society


 * Beccles has a fascinating history; and we enjoy finding out about it.  But our talks and excursion programmes also take us further afield, exploring East Anglia and more widely.  We also range freely in historical time - from the Romans to the 20th Century.

Belton & District Historical Society Email: [mailto:kim.saul.502@btinternet.com kim.saul.502@btinternet.com] Website: Belton & District Historical Society


 * The Belton & District Historical Society was formed in 2006 by a group of friends, to preserve the character of the village. Also to protect the historic foundations for generations to follow. Their aim is to record the past for future and preserve the present.

Blundeston & District Local History Society Blundeston Village Hall 16 Meadowlands Blundeston Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 5A UK Website: Blundeston & District Local History Society

Bramford Local History Group The Loraine Victory Hall Ship Ln Bramford Ipswich, Suffolk IP8 4AL UK Telephone: 01473 747979 Email: [mailto:beryl@sims-home.co.uk beryl@sims-home.co.uk] Website: Bramford Local History Group


 * The Group's aim is to stimulate interest in local history and to publish as much information as possible.

Bury St Edmunds Past and Present Society 1-2 Crown Street Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 1QX UK Telephone: 01284 719 595 Website: Bury St Edmunds Past and Present Society


 * The Bury St Edmunds Past and Present Society was formed in 1960 and seeks to appeal to all with a love of the history of our town and surrounding area.

Clare Historical & Archaeological Society The Bell Clare, Suffolk CO10 8NN UK Telephone: 01787 277249/08722 62259 Email: [mailto:fogorman51@gmail.com fogorman51@gmail.com] Website: Clare Historical & Archaeological Society

Coddenham Village History Club Haysel House Codddenham, Suffolk UK Telephone: 01449 760676 Email: [mailto:johnpelling@btinternet.com johnpelling@btinternet.com] Website: Coddenham Village History Club


 * The club has a large collection of local records and working meetings are held regularly for members of the club to work on or browse through the records at the house where they are stored. A newsletter is circulated twice a year containing news of the club's activities and articles of local interest.

Debenham Family History Sweetbrier Barn Mill Green Stonham Aspal, Suffolk IP14 6BZ Email: [mailto:suzie@debenhamfamilyhistory.org.uk suzie@debenhamfamilyhistory.org.uk] Website: Debenham Family History


 * This is the website for all things relating to the Genealogy and Family History of the villages of Aspall, Debenham, Kenton, Mickfield & Winston in Suffolk, England.

Felixstowe Family History Society The Tree House Orwell School Maidstone Road Felixstowe, Suffolk IP11 9ED UK Telephone: 01 394 271 762 Email: [mailto:fxfhs@hotmail.com fxfhs@hotmail.com] Website: Felixstowe Family History Society


 * The Society was formed in January 1986 with the aims of helping researchers to increase their knowledge of genealogy and assist them in researching their own family history, assisting in the preservation of local history and genealogy records, and enabling us all, by sharing knowledge, to further our awareness of what information is available and how to access it.

Framlingham & District Local History & Preservation Society United Free Church Hall Riverside Albert Place Framlingham, Suffolk IP13 9DX UK Telephone: 01728 723557 Email: [mailto:framarchive@gmail.com framarchive@gmail.com] Website: Framlingham & District Local History & Preservation Society


 * The aims of the Society are to not only encourage and foster interest in the social history of the town and the surrounding district, but also to provide accommodation for all objects given, presented, bequeathed, or loaned to the Society.

Glemsford Local History Society Glemsford Primary School Hall Lion Road Glemsford, Suffolk CO10 7RF UK Telephone: 01787 280996 Email: [mailto:marjonking@gmail.com marjonking@gmail.com] Website: Glemsford Local History Society


 * Glemsford Local History Society has been active for many years now, and is dedicated to the study and distribution of the details of Glemsford's past. We aim to encourage the better understanding of the past and present through such activities as lectures, activities, visits, and research.

Grundisburgh Local History Society Parish Rooms The Green Grundisburgh Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 6TA UK Telephone: 01473 738195 Email: [mailto:alviausher@btinternet.com alviausher@btinternet.com] Website: Grundisburgh Local History Society


 * The Society exists to researching into, record and foster interest in the history of Grundisburgh and its neighbourhood.

Hadleigh Society History Group Hadleigh Old Town Hall The Guildhall Market Place Hadleigh Ipswich, Suffolk IP7 5DN UK Telephone: 01473 823503 Email: [mailto:secretary@hadsoc.org.uk secretary@hadsoc.org.uk] Website: Hadleigh Society History Group


 * The History Group meets to explore the past of our town. They have looked at the history of individual houses, made a study of life in Hadleigh in the 1840s, 1871 and 1881, publishing a booklet on the latter.  They have studied the history of the Town's charities and researched the life of the town in the Great War.

Haverhill & District Local History Group Haverhill Arts Centre High St Haverhill, Suffolk CB9 8AR UK Telephone: 01440 714962 Email: [mailto:haverhillhistuk@gmail.com haverhillhistuk@gmail.com] Website: Haverhill & District Local History Group


 * Haverhill & District Local History Group is a resource and study centre for Haverhill and surrounding villages, located in Haverhill Arts Centre.

Ipswich Archaeological Trust Ipswich Museum High Street Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3QH UK Telephone: 01473 689364 Email: [mailto:keithwade999@btinternet.com keithwade999@btinternet.com] Website: Ipswich Archaeological Trust


 * We hope to inform and enthuse you about Ipswich and its exciting history. It’s one of the earliest properly English towns. It has crucially important national and international status. The Trust seeks to celebrate these facts.

Jack Rose Old Lowestoft Society Trinity Methodist Church High St Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 4HU UK Telephone: 01502 564601 Website: Jack Rose Old Lowestoft Society

Long Melford Historical & Archaeological Society Old School Community Centre The Green Long Melford, Suffolk CO10 9DX UK Telephone: 01787 375329 Website: Long Melford Historical & Archaeological Society


 * The Society was formed in 1969 with the objectives to acquire, preserve and publish information on objects of historical importance, to oppose and preserve as far as practicable, any loss or threats to buildings and antiquities, to act as custodian of documents, artefacts or finds, and to stimulate interest in the history of Long Melford.

Lowestoft Archaeological and Local History Society South Lowestoft Methodist Church London Road South Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0DY UK Email: [mailto:lalhs@btinternet.com lalhs@btinternet.com] Website: Lowestoft Archaeological and Local History Society

Mendlesham History Group URC Chapel Old Market Street Mendlesham, Suffolk UK Telephone:01449 766434 Email: [mailto:sm_michell@yahoo.co.uk sm_michell@yahoo.co.uk] Website: Mendlesham History Group

Newmarket Local History Society c/o Newmarket Town Council Memorial Hall 124 High Street Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 8JP UK Email: [mailto:rodvincent@freenetname.co.uk rodvincent@freenetname.co.uk] Website: Newmarket Local History Society


 * We're based in Newmarket, Suffolk, the historic horse-racing town associated with 'The Sport of Kings' from the time of King James I in the early 17th century.

Port of Lowestoft Research Society 25 Southwell Road Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0RW UK Telephone: 01502 568652 Email: [mailto:stan.earl@virgin.net stan.earl@virgin.net] Website: Port of Lowestoft Research Society


 * The society records the history of the port of Lowestoft and collects all relative material. The Society has a collection of 13,000 photographic prints and index cards of vessels that were built in, owned at or visited Lowestoft. The collection is housed in the Lowestoft branch of the Suffolk Record Office.

Saxmundham & District Local History Society United Reformed Church Hall Rendham Road Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 1BJ UK Telephone: 01728 663583 Website: Saxmundham & District Local History Society

Southwold Museum & Historical Society 9 -11 Victoria Street Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6HZ UK Telephone: 01502 726097 Email: [mailto:southwold.museum@btconnect.com southwold.museum@btconnect.com] Website: Southwold Museum & Historical Society


 * The Society was set up principally to own the museum and to support it - financially (through subscriptions and fundraising), practically (by supplying the voluntary manpower and management expertise to run the museum and its associated library) and academically (through carrying out research and publishing the results).

Stowmarket Local History Group Stowmarket Salvation Army Hall 3 Violet Hill Road Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1NE UK Email: [mailto:neil@stowman.plus.com neil@stowman.plus.com] Website: Stowmarket Local History Group


 * Stowmarket Local History Group was founded in 2004 to encourage interest and research into the history of this market town in central Suffolk.

Suffolk Family History Society University of Suffolk Waterfront Building Neptune Quay Ipswich, Suffolk IP4 1QJ UK Email: [mailto:treasurer@suffolkfhs.org.uk treasurer@suffolkfhs.org.uk] Website: Suffolk Family History Society


 * Founded at Lowestoft in 1975, we are a group of keen amateur genealogists whose objectives are to promote and encourage the study of family history, genealogy, heraldry and local history with particular reference to Suffolk; and to promote the preservation, security and accessibility of archive material. The Society consists of groups at Haverhill, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, Lowestoft, Sudbury, and West London.

Suffolk Institute of Archaeology & History Blackbourne Hall Blackbourne Rd Elmswell Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9GY UK Telephone: 01284 753228 Email: [mailto:generalsecretary@suffolkinstitute.org.uk generalsecretary@suffolkinstitute.org.uk] Website: Suffolk Institute of Archaeology & History


 * The Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History, founded in 1848, is Suffolk’s largest and oldest archaeological and historical society. For a century and a half it has played an important role in encouraging and publishing research on Suffolk’s past.

Suffolk Local History Council Blackbourne Hall Blackbourne Rd Elmswell Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9GY UK Telephone: 01449 258216 Email: [mailto:secretary@slhc.org.uk secretary@slhc.org.uk] Website: Suffolk Local History Council


 * The purpose of the Suffolk Local History Council is to encourage and support the study of local history and to act as an umbrella organisation for groups and individuals with similar interests in the county of Suffolk.

Suffolk Records Society Telephone: 01449 721121 Email: [mailto:claire@ejbarker.co.uk claire@ejbarker.co.uk] Website: Suffolk Records Society


 * For over sixty years, the Society has been committed to producing books that bring Suffolk’s rich historical literature to a wider audience. Covering a period of 700 years these volumes of letters, diaries, maps, accounts and other archives have made a major contribution to historical studies of the county and are a useful tool for both professional and amateur historians, as well as being a source of information for anyone interested in Suffolk’s history.

Sutton Hoo Society Riverside Theatre Quayside Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1BH UK Email: [mailto:info@suttonhoo.org info@suttonhoo.org] Website: Sutton Hoo Society


 * Sutton Hoo is an archaeological site in Suffolk, south-east England (National Grid Reference TM 288 487), famous for the Anglo-Saxon ship burial discovered there in 1939. Today the Sutton Hoo Society trains the Guides, who offer burial site tours and Exhibition Hall talks. We work alongside the National Trust to promote interest in this unique place and to tell the stories of Anglo-Saxon archaeology and history here.

Walberswick Local History Group Walberswick Village Hall B1387 Southwold, Suffolk IP18 UK Email: [mailto:alan.walpole@hotmail.co.uk alan.walpole@hotmail.co.uk] Website: Walberswick Local History Group


 * The archivist holds a comprehensive store of interesting local historical records and memorabilia.

Wickham Market Area Archive Centre Telephone: 01728 746241 Email: [mailto:sallyann_crowley@yahoo.co.uk sallyann_crowley@yahoo.co.uk] Website: Wickham Market Area Archive Centre


 * Wickham Market Area Archive Centre maintains records relating to families, properties and events in the area of Wickham Market, in the county of Suffolk, England.

Wickham Market & District Local History Society Richard Kitson Court Chapel Lane Wickham Market, Suffolk IP13 0SD UK Telephone: 01728 747981 Email: [mailto:roger.theobald@btinternet.com roger.theobald@btinternet.com] Website: Wickham Market & District Local History Society


 * A varied programme of talks on all aspects of local interest, also arranged visits to sites in East Anglia.