The Presbytarian faithful in Diss founded a chapel as early as 1697 in the Suffolk village of Palgrave just across the river Waveney from the market town of Diss. This chapel eventually moved to the town in 1822 during the period of this register. The chapel now forms Diss' Masonic Hall.

The only records deposited by the sect are those required by the civil registration act in 1837 which were deposited at The National Archives. This register covers 1761 to the deposition date from which these entries are extracted. A copy of the TNA film is held on microfilm MF1155 in the collection of the Norfolk Record Office. The standard of this film is not of the quality to be expected by NRO and at times was tricky to read. Given the sparsity of the records it is to be hoped this is accurately done.