Tracing your Ludham Ancestors

Tracing your Family Tree in Ludham

INTRODUCTION

Of all the enquiries we get at the Ludham Archive, questions about tracing your ancestors back to Ludham are the most common. We are always glad to help if we can and this is why we have created this section of our website which we hope you will find to be a useful resource. Do let us know if you have any suggestions for things to put on this page.

PARISH RECORDS

The Parish Records are a great place to start. Here you can find records of baptisms, marriages and deaths.

There was a time when the Parish Records lived in a tin chest in the church, but those days are long gone. Now the Ludham Parish Records are at the Public Record Office in Norwich, and that is the place where you must start your search. Until recently, this meant having to travel to Norwich in person, but now, thanks to the efforts of many volunteers, you can search the Parish Records on-line.

To do this go to the FreeReg site and start searching. Please note, this site has nothing to do with the Ludham Archive Group.
You can browse actual images of the records at Family Search - Record Search Click on "Browse our Record Collections", choose "Europe" and then choose "Norfolk, Church of England Parish Records". Find "Ludham" on the list and you can begin browsing the records. Again the site has nothing to do with the Ludham Archive Group.

GRAVE STONES

Grave stones are a great resource and a source of all sorts of useful information.
In 1980, the Women's Institute (WI) carried out a survey of all the grave stones and monuments in the churchyard at St Catherine's Ludham. However, over the last 30 years, this survey has got out of date. So during 2008, the Ludham Archive Group carried out a new survey. We photographed all the stones and recorded and updated the inscriptions.
From this we have produced a book which is available in the Church for you to use when you visit. St Catherine's is open daily and a visit is surely the best way to carry out your research.
However, not everyone can make a personal visit. If you would like to know if your ancestor is buried in the churchyard, we have added an alphabetical index to this website. Just click here to take a look.
Please remember, this is a list of all the graves with stones, crosses, mounds and other monuments. There are other people buried in the churchyard who have unmarked graves. Not everyone could afford a stone in the past as they were expensive items.

Sorry, we can't put all the photographs and inscriptions on this website at the moment, but if you need this information, just go back to our home page and send us an e-mail.

FAMILY SPECIFIC INFORMATION

For some Ludham Families we have more information which may be helpful in your research. Click here to take a look.

CAN WE HELP?

We are happy to help if we can. The local historians sometimes like a challenge. If you have a question, please go to our home page where you will find our e-mail address. You are welcome to send us an e-mail and we will see if the Ludham Archive contains anything of help to you.