Registered Charity No. 288042

Helping to preserve Suffolk’s archival heritage

Registered Charity No. 288042
All content © Friends of Suffolk Archives

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

2023 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING



This year’s AGM was held on Wednesday 21 June at 7.00pm at Old Wesley Chapel, School Road, Elmswell, Suffolk, IP30 9EE, Thank you to all those members who attended this enjoyable evening.
 
Our formal AGM was followed by a presentation highlighting some of the many documents the Friends have bought for deposit in Suffolk Archives, including brief talks by Sue Heaser on Cobbold’s Wortham and Neil Langridge on Thorney Hall, Stowupland.
 
For those members who were unable to attend, the relevant paperwork for the AGM is still avaiilable for you to read and can be found
here.