Registered Charity No. 288042

Helping to preserve Suffolk’s archival heritage

The Friends of Suffolk Archives (FOSA) was formed in 1983 as the Friends of Suffolk Record Office (FOSRO), when they played a key role in raising £250,000 to buy the Elveden manuscripts, now held at the Ipswich branch. As a registered charity, our twin aims are first, to promote the records service provided by the County Council and second, to facilitate the acquisition and conservation of archival material of relevance to the historic county of Suffolk.

Since our formation, the Friends have purchased many other fine archives for the Suffolk Archives (formerly the Suffolk Record Office). In many cases these might have been lost to the county without their action. For instance, we saved the Burrell collection of First World War military photographs, the manorial records of Waldringfield and the Shrubland Hall photographic collection. With others, we acquired the Joan Corder collection of East Anglian heraldic manuscripts and material from the Ickworth archives. We have also purchased many single items that have appeared on the market, such as the day book of a Layham blacksmith and a minute book of the Cosford Poor Law Union.

Please visit our acquisitions page to see images of some of the outstanding items we have secured for the county.

If you are passionate about preserving Suffolk’s archival heritage, please join us. Membership costs from just £12 per year.

LATEST NEWS

2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Thank you to those members (and non-members) who attended our 2025 AGM evening on Tuesday 14th October in the Conference Room at Bury St Edmunds Library.

After our usual business, we heard the latest news from Judith Berry, Head of Suffolk Archives and The Hold.

Relevant paperwork for the AGM, including Judith Berry’s written report, can still be accessed here.

After the AGM, Sarah Doig gave a talk entitled Beyond Hatches, Matches & Dispatches. Any self-respecting family or local historian will be familiar with the entries of baptisms, marriages and deaths in parish registers. In many cases, however, the pages of Suffolk parish registers provide intriguing insights into our ancestors’ lives beyond these records. In this talk, Sarah reveals stories of spires collapsing, community celebrations and extreme weather conditions, as well as dipping into some of the tragic and humorous circumstances in which people lived and died.