Suffolk Civil Registration

Return to the Suffolk County page.

When civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837, Suffolk was divided into a number of registration districts, each containing several parishes. There was a major reorganization of districts in 1935; thereby, many of the historical districts created in 1837 were replaced with new names and boundaries. Certificates can be obtained from district registrars in Suffolk as well as the General Register Office. There is duplicate of the marriage certifcate in the parish registers where the marriage took place. There is no duplicate of a birth certificate or death certificate at the parish level.

Civil Registration Indexes
By identifying a person in the civil registration indexes, one is able to order a certificate from the General Register Office. There are many sites that provide access to the civil registration indexes. FreeBMD is a preferred site since it provides free access and it has an excellent search capacity. Searches can be conducted on a district level, county level or national level. One also can search the district registrar indexes in person at their offices. The General Register Office indexes do not correspond with the indexes at the district level.

Eastern Division

 * Blything - Comprised of 48 parishes; abolished in 1935
 * Bosmere &amp; Claydon - Comprised of 39 parishes; abolished in 1935
 * Hoxne- Comprised of 24 parishes; abolished in 1907; merged into Hartismere district
 * Ipswich - Comprised of 14 parishes;
 * Mutford - Comprised of 25 parishes; abolished in 1935
 * Plomesgate - Comprised of 40 parishes; abolished in 1935
 * Samford - Comprised of 28 parishes; abolished in 1974
 * Wangford - Comprised of 28 parishes; abolished in 1935
 * Woodbridge - Comprised of 48 parishes; abolished in 1935

Western Division

 * Bury St Edmunds
 * Cosford
 * Hartismere
 * Mildenhall
 * Newmarket
 * Risbridge
 * Stow
 * Sudbury
 * Thetford
 * Thingoe