Allison Caffyn (BA Hons)

I am a qualified librarian who worked in business and public libraries for many years.  When I moved to Sussex about seven years ago I chose to turn my long term hobby and obsession into a business.  I have been researching my own family history for over thirty years having developed an interest at a young age.  It is a largely Sussex based family so I have extensive experience researching in this area and the counties around including Surrey and Kent.

I am a member of the Guild of One Name Studies and the Sussex Family History Group.

When I am not working or researching my own family history I also enjoying photography, reading and walking my dogs.

Sussex Ancestors charges £15 an hour for research.

You will be charged for the time spent on your research project which includes analyis, research and writing. The time will be agreed in advance and payment is required up front.  After completion of the agreed research you will be sent a report detailing the results and the next steps towards achieving your goal.

There may also be other  costs involved such as the cost of obtaining copies of original records and search fees which will be charged at cost.  These will be agreed in advance where the total is going to be more than £5.

Sussex Ancestors does not charge travel costs for research based in Sussex but for research outside of Sussex travel costs will be added to the cost of the research.  Any travel costs will be agreed with you in advance.

Depending on your research needs work can begin from a minimum of 1 hour but is generally undertaken in half day or full day sessions.

A half days research (6 hours) will cost £90

A full days research (9 hours) will cost £135

East Sussex Record Office will be moving to new accommodation towards then end of 2013 if all goes well otherwise early in 2014.

The new record office is described as a state of the art historical resource centre.  It will combine the resources of the record office, the Brighton History Centre and special collections from the University of Sussex.  It will also be the headquarters and library of the Sussex Family History Group.

Work is progressing on schedule; soon testing will begin on the repository and so long as the building passes it will be opening later this year.  I recently toured the building and the photos can be seen on my blog

The record office have a lot of work to do to prepare for the move so the record office will be closed for a month from the .14th January to the 8th February inclusive.

There are likely to be additional closures throughout the year.