Norfolk Record Office

26/10/2026

Our latest Hall Mark’s blog post, written by volunteer blog researcher/writer Anamika Bhattacharjee, examines Witton Hall, near North Walsham, from the perspectives of three different individuals.

One expressed their opinion that Witton Hall, “…of all the strange houses I ever saw is by far the strangest” in a letter to their sister.

One gave their judgement in a ‘Red Book’, “Where there is such Novelty, and originality of Design at Witton, it is not to be wondered at, that there should be some defects in the general arrangement…”

But what did the owner of Witton Hall, Charlotte Laura Norris, think?

You can read the blog here: https://buff.ly/qBoSW3a

Image & source: Witton Hall, 1802. Picture Norfolk (BRN 718313).

The Hall Marks project is made possible with , with thanks to Lottery players.

21/10/2026

📜 Congratulations to our County Archivist, Gary Tuson, who has received a lifetime achievement award from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History. Gary received his certificate at a special lunch at the House of Commons yesterday. Read more about the award, and learn some of the previous winners, here - https://buff.ly/ld37mJU

20/10/2026

📖 Our latest Reading from the Archives session, The Force of Nature, held just this morning, is now available to watch on our YouTube channel. Enjoy readings of storms, flooding, coastal erosion and lightning! https://buff.ly/k0HotrK

This Reading from the Archives session is called ‘The Force of Natu...

19/10/2026

It's again. Today we look at marks left by halls!

‘Parch marks’ or ‘crop marks’ can reveal the layout of former houses and gardens in surprising detail. They commonly occur where the soil is less deep, for example where grass or crops are grown over foundations or where the ground has been disturbed for other reasons.

Shallow soil retains less water than deep soil. This limits how well the vegetation grows above shallow soil compared to immediately adjacent areas with deeper soil. The result of this is best seen from the air.

Warham Hall may have been demolished around two centuries ago, but signs of its existence can still appear given particular conditions. The footprint of the hall and even the layout of gardens can be identified in aerial photographs in some years.

The Hall Marks project is made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund with thanks to Lottery players.

Image: Aerial photograph of the site of the former Warham Hall, taken by Derek Edwards 19 September 1991 (TF9441/K/GHV9), courtesy of the Norfolk Air Photo Library (https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/article/40300/Norfolk-Air-Photo-Library). Copyright Norfolk County Council Historic Environment Record.

16/10/2026

Remembering our conservator, Yuki Russell.

Staff are sad to share the news of the passing of Yuki Russell, one of the conservators at the Norfolk Record Office, in August 2026. In her native Japan, Yuki studied for a MA in Conservation for …

12/10/2026

This week the Hall Marks project team hosts its final 'Discovering lost house histories' workshops in Norwich. They follow on from other successful workshops earlier in the year in Gorleston, Norwich and King's Lynn.

We have been keen to keep the workshops active and engaging for participants. For example, we could have shown a graph of how losses of Norfolk country houses have changed decade by decade since 1780 – but we invited our guests to build one instead!

Each block represented a different country house that has either been mostly or completely demolished. The label on the front indicated the decade in which it was lost (different colours represented whether it had been demolished, destroyed by fire, truncated or empty for over two decades before being lost).

Many thanks to all who have taken part in the workshops, with special thanks to Dr Sarah Spooner (UEA) for helping the 3D chart maintain structural integrity!

The Hall Marks project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to Lottery players.

06/10/2026

Our Tudor mannequin complete with newly fur trimmed cloak and altered black dress underneath. Thank you to all our volunteers who joined us yesterday, and we look forward to seeing more finished pieces to take out for school workshops soon!

05/10/2026

This dress is being altered to fit a smaller frame and be more accessible, with a Velcro fastening. It will be used in our school workshops.

05/10/2026

Our Tudor Tailors are taking over the searchroom today. These volunteers are creating tudor inspired clothing for us to use in our school workshops.