Upcoming Events
Following the success of our last online programme of events we are pleased to bring you our forthcoming events for Spring 2021.
To book or for links to join non-booking events please see details below.
- History Talks
- Online Workshops
- Mindful Mondays
- Quiz Evening
- Adult Craft
- International Women’s Day
- How to…
- Reading from the Archives
- Small Bites
History Talks
Our talks are repeated on Zoom twice during the day, once at 1pm and once at 7pm. Each talk lasts 20 mins and speakers will be available to answer questions live. Once they have been shown all talks will be made available on the Norfolk Record Office YouTube Channel.
We would encourage you to register your interest for talks on our Eventbrite page, as this helps us to determine if we need to increase the capacity. However, this does not guarantee you a space. To enter the talks please click on the links below before the talk starts, and you will be admitted to a lobby. Admittance is on a first come first served basis.
Spring talks include:
Conserving Norwich’s Antarctic Heritage
By Geoff Cooper
Wednesday 27 January
Following his latest visit to the Antarctic Peninsula, Geoff will be explaining his role as a conservator for the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, which includes looking after 3 historic huts built by Norwich firm Boulton and Paul. The talk will conclude with an explanation of the logistics and practicalities of conducting conservation work in Antarctica.
No booking required, please use the links to join us before the talk starts
If you know someone who would like to listen by telephone please give them the following details:
Telephone: 0203 481 5237
PIN for 1pm talk: 853 7326 7259
PIN for 7pm talk: 878 1010 7183
Missed it? View the video on our YouTube channel
If you have problems accessing a talk on zoom through your browser try downloading the zoom app.
Due to the popularity of the following talk we are repeating it on Tuesday 23 February. Please see below for the new details:
Songs of the Sea: Sound Archive Shanties
By Nicole Hudson
Tuesday 23 February
With 2021 unofficially dubbed as ‘the year of the sea shanty’ following a recent viral trend featuring a traditional maritime song, we turn to East Anglia’s sound archives to explore the shanties of our coastline. What are the stories behind the songs of our sea faring past? Hear a selection of traditional shanties and discover the true tales of both tragedy and adventure that inspired them.
This talk will use extracts from the sound archives of the Time and Tide Museum that have been digitally preserved at Norfolk Record Office through the national audio preservation project, Unlocking Our Sound Heritage.
No booking required, please use the links to join us before the talk starts
If you know someone who would like to listen by telephone please give them the following details:
Telephone: 0203 481 5237
PIN for 1pm talk: 867 2533 6258
If you have problems accessing a talk on zoom through your browser try downloading the zoom app.
The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Great Yarmouth
By Frank Meeres
Wednesday 24 February
What kind of women fought for the vote? What did they actually do? The very rare survival of the Yarmouth Suffrage Society minute book means that we can analyse the suffrage movement in a typical provincial town. If your grandmother was a suffragist, this is her story.
No booking required, please use the links to join us before the talk starts
If you know someone who would like to listen by telephone please give them the following details:
Telephone: 0203 481 5237
PIN for 1pm talk: 840 3429 3060
PIN for 7pm talk: 819 7374 5381
Missed it? View the video on our YouTube channel
If you have problems accessing a talk on zoom through your browser try downloading the zoom app.
The Civil War Petitions Project: War Victims and their Stories in Norfolk and Norwich
by Andy Hopper
Wednesday 17 March
In this talk, Professor Andrew Hopper of the Centre for English Local History at the University of Leicester, will showcase the evidence in the Norfolk Record Office that demonstrates the care and welfare afforded to maimed soldiers, war widows and orphans of the English Civil Wars. His research is part of a large 4 year AHRC-funded research project that runs from 2017 to 2021, entitled ‘Conflict, Welfare and Memory during and after the English Civil Wars, 1642-1710’. The free project website is available at www.civilwarpetitions.ac.uk
No booking required, please use the links to join us before the talk starts
Missed it? View the video on the University of Leicester site here .
Online Workshops
Our one hour online workshops include
- A talk on how to use Norfolk sources for your research
- A chance to ask questions
- A workbook containing workshop notes and a practical activity
- A voucher to receive half price access to an in-person workshop
- A chance to view some of our Website Tutorials explaining how to use various websites to locate and access the documents mentioned (these are also available via our YouTube channel)
The workshops are completely free of charge and focus on sources that you can access from home. Click on a date below to book
Introduction to House History
Learn how to discover the fabric of your building using OS, tithe and enclosure maps, before moving on to uncover the previous inhabitants of your house using census returns, trade directories, manor court books and wills.
Bookings required, using links below
Introduction to Family History
Learn how to access and use census records, civil registration, and parish registers to trace your ancestors. The session starts with some tips on collecting materials and memories within your immediate family before moving on to these other sources.
Bookings required, using links below
Advanced Family History
Find out how to use some of the more advanced sources for tracing your family tree. This session includes a mixture of documents which can be accessed online but also those which are only available in the Norfolk Record Office searchroom in person. Sources included are electoral registers, marriage licence bonds and tithe documents.
Bookings required, using links below
Mindful Mondays
Download a colouring sheet featuring images from our archives and join us on Teams for a 45 minute chat whilst colouring away (sharing your work at the end is optional!). Feel free to drop in and out at any point during the 45 minutes.
Booking required, using links below
Quiz Evening
Following the success of our first online quiz, we will be bringing you completely new questions in our second quiz evening. An informal evening to test your knowledge of Norfolk history, and maybe learning somthing new along the way. Once again, this is purely for fun and you don’t need to reveal how you do unless you want to! The quiz should take 60-90 minutes.
No booking required, just click on the link below 5 minutes before we go live.
If you know someone who would like to listen by telephone please give them the following details (please note some rounds may include visual elements):
Telephone: 0203 481 5237
PIN: 846 4199 3224
If you have problems accessing a talk on zoom through your browser try downloading the zoom app.
Adult Craft
Grab your paper and pens and get creative with one of our adult craft sessions. All sessions last for one hour and will include a chance to see some of our documents for inspiration before a tutorial on how to create your own craft.
A list of materials you will need will be sent a week in advance.
Making a Notebook
Learn how to create your very own notebook, including basic book binding to attach the pages and decoupage techniques to decorate it. We will take you step by step through the instructions before giving you time to add your own embellishments.
Booking required using the link below
Scrapbooking
Join us to learn about this history of scrapbooking whilst viewing some held in the Norfolk Record Office, before learning how to get started on your very own scrapbook. We will take you through the basics including journaling, to creating visual sections and how to embellish your page. Participants will get the chance to follow our step by step instructions with us as we take you through a number of ways of making the pages interactive.
Booking required using the link below
International Women’s Day
The Norfolk and Norwich Nurses’ Registers, 1900-28
By Daryl Long
Wednesday 10 March
What do the first three volumes of these registers tell us? Who were these women drawn to nursing and what attracted them to Norwich, some from far away cities and even abroad? What insights do Matron’s frank comments give us? Discover how these registers reveal so much more about these women other than the bare details recorded in the registers.
No booking required, please click on the link below 5 minutes before we start
How to…
Short sessions looking at using the collections held at the Norfolk Record Office and your own valuable documents.
Using our new Online Catalogues
This 20 minute session showcases our new online catalogues, and talks you through how to use it for your own research. This will be followed by a short practical exercise to enable you to feel confident in conducting your own searches.
Booking required using the link below
Caring for your books and documents at home
Our Senior Conservator, Nick Sellwood, will take you through the basics of how to look after your family and personal papers and materials at home, before answering any specific questions. He will explain what you can be doing now to enable them to last for the future. We will consolidate this knowledge with a short practical exercise in looking after some of the items mentioned.
Booking required using the link below
Reading from the Archives
Join us for a half-hour relaxation whilst listening to stories from the archives. Find out about ordinary people’s live in the past, joining them to hear their struggles and successes. The first session will look at migration, we will get to hear from the people who emigrated to North America on their experiences of a new land, from those left behind and hear some of the advertising encouraging people to join those already there.
Booking required using the link below.
Small Bites
Our small bites are an introduction to a particular collection or topic. Each small bite lasts 30 minutes and contains a talk and time for questions
Workhouse Records
Join us to find our more about the different records created by the workhouse system in England and Wales. From Parish Workhouses to the Union Workhouses we are familiar with from cultural references in Victorian works of fiction. We will take you through the records created about individual inmates to those dealing with the running of the workhouse.
Booking required using the link below
Settlement Papers
Find out about records created before and after the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. We will show you how you can find out about individuals through settlement certificates, settlement examinations and removal orders, before moving on to assisted migration and emigration and poor rate books.
Booking required using the link below
The talks, and quiz evening are run via Zoom, all other events are run via Microsoft Teams. Please ensure your equipment, operating systems and web browsers are compatible with these videoconferencing platforms in advance. This is particularly necessary for Apple users.
Norfolk Record Office 