Genealogy Chat

Does anyone know how you can get any info on inquests? I have a death announcement for my gg grandfather from 1929 and it gives the name of the coroner and where the inquest was held but i don't know where to go from there, Karen.

Coroners reports are subject to a 75 year rule and not all survive. Your best way of finding more is to know where the accident/inquest took place and to find the newspaper report. This can be done either through the nearest library to where the inquest was or by a visit to Colindale newspaper library at Colindale nr Hendon London. Janet

Thanks Janet, Karen

Hi I was looking for the coroner's records for the death of my greatgrandmother who died in 1940 in London. I learned that Coroners records are kept for 15 years and then destroyed apart from a 10% sample. Many of these have been deposited at the London Metropolitan Archives. I looked at the samples kept from the Eastern District of London for 1940 so the 75 year closure rule does not seem to apply. I did not find my Great grandmothers inquest but the ones I did look through made fascinating reading! It is a shame that all Coroners reports are not microfilmed instead of being destroyed as there is so much information contained in these files about the deceased, what happened to them, where they lived, their occupations and health details. Also there are very detailed statements from people who knew the deceased. I was surprised to find that alot of the deaths were from heart attacks and not just suicides or road traffic accidents. Sue

Thanks Sue, from the death announcement i've got it sounds like it may have been a heart attack or similar because it says "although confined to his bed for the past four or five months,Mr Eddy had not been attended by a doctor since last august,and his end came unexpectedly. An inquest was held after the deceased daughter(Mrs Ethel Quick) stated that she took a cup of tea to her father,and just after,without any struggle he fell back and expired" it would just be interesting to see the report, Karen.

Karen If this was a heart attack then you are probably not going to get this info from the newspaper so you are probably dependant on the coroner's cert surviviving which is very doubtful. Accidents and unusual deaths are recorded in newspapers but do not think a heart attack would be considered very newsworthy. Sue I do not think that all coroners certs will be at Metropolitan Archives, just the ones for the London Middlesex area? Coroners certs are usually kept in the areas that the inquests were held so they are all over the country. Janet

Hi Karen, I managed to get my great uncles inquest report from 1947, I initially wrote to the coroner who informed me that the records were held at the records office. I then wrote to them and for £10 they sent me a copy, they were really quick and i got everything within a week. Demelza.

Thanks everyone, i'll get onto the local records office,it would just be interesting to find out, Karen