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Coroners' records

Today, coroners are independent judicial officers who are responsible for enquiring into the medical causes of sudden and unexpected, unnatural, violent or suspicious deaths. The office was formally established in 1194, when its duties were more those of a medieval tax gatherer and included the investigation of almost any aspect of medieval life that had the potential benefit of revenue for the Crown. Sudden death in the community has always been considered important and was investigated by the coroner, although for financial rather than judicial reasons. For example, suicides were investigated on the grounds that the goods and chattels of people found guilty of the crime would then be forfeit to the crown, and accidental deaths, such as being run over by a cart, were investigated as the cart could then be confiscated. All coroners investigated cases of violent death, fires and the finding of hidden treasure, and coroners in counties with a coastline investigated shipwrecks.

Not all deaths are reported to a coroner. They are usually reported if the death has happened in suspicious or unforeseen circumstances, such as:

  • by violence or accident
  • in prison or police custody
  • from an industrial disease, such as pneumonicosis
  • during an operation or under anaesthetic, or
  • if the deceased had not been seen by a doctor in the previous 14 days

If a death is reported, the coroner gathers all the relevant information surrounding the death to make a decision about the cause. If there are questions about the causes of death, the coroner may arrange for a post-mortem examination. If this shows that the death was not due to natural causes, the coroner will then hold an inquest.

The purpose of an inquest is to find out the cause of death, and to provide the particulars needed for its registration. It is not the coroner's responsibility to establish who is to blame for the death. The four main questions to be answered at an inquest are: who was the deceased and how, when and where did they meet their death?

Somerset Coroners’ Records

With the exception of Carhampton Hundred and the Boroughs of Langport and Bridgwater, Somerset has hardly any coroners’ records before the 1920s. At this time the county was divided into three main divisions: North, West and South East, each with its own coroner. However, the Boroughs of Langport and Bridgwater had their own coroners up until 1886 and 1974 respectively. Following Local Government reorganisation in 1974, the Northern Division was amalgamated with the Avon division, leaving the South East and West divisions. In 2015 these two divisions merged to form the Somerset division. Before the 1970s, very few files were kept.

South East Somerset (ref: C/CR/SE)

  • Account books, 1929 to 1965
  • Registers of deaths, 1955 to 1989
  • List of cases destroyed, 1929 to 1971
  • Inquests, 1929-2013, and natural causes, 1929 to 2015

West Somerset (ref: C/CR/W)

  • Account books, 1935 to 1964
  • Inquest lists, 1971 to 1983
  • Inquests, 1931-2013, and natural causes, 1931 to 2015

North Somerset (ref: C/CR/N)

  • Correspondence, 1934 to 1947
  • Annual reports, 1932 to 1937
  • Daily records, 1928 to 1970
  • Registers of deaths reported, 1953 to 1972
  • Inquests, 1946 to 1954, 1968 to 1973

Somerset (ref. C/CR/S)

  • Natural causes, 2015

Miscellaneous (ref: C/CR/MISC/1)

  • Appointments, fees, salaries and returns, 1889 to 1930

Bridgwater Borough (ref: D/B/BW and C/CR/BW)

  • Inquests, 1717 to 1751 (ref. D/B/BW/1917/1-72)
  • Inquisitions (inquest verdicts), 1945-1974 (ref. C/CR/BW/1)
  • Certificates issued after inquests, 1948-1969 (ref. C/CR/BW/1)
  • Enquiries, 1969 (ref. C/CR/BW/1)
  • Inquests, 1970 (ref. C/CR/BW/1)
  • List of inquest cases destroyed and retained (ref. C/CR/BW/1)
  • Police reports of sudden deaths, 1973-1974 (ref. C/CR/BW/2)
  • Coroner's journals, 1940-1973 (ref. C/CR/BW/3)

Langport Borough (ref: D/B/LA)

Carhampton Hundred

  • Carhampton Hundred Coroner’s roll, 1315 to 1321 (ref. DD/L/P/31/1). Published in Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries Vol. 31, p.322 (Q Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries)

Other material

  • Daily record including inquests in Bishops Lydeard police district, 1880 to 1926 (ref. DD/ASC/6/1/1)
  • Daily record including inquests in Ilminster police district, 1880 to 1904 (ref. DD/ASC/6/1/7)
  • Coroner’s records including inquests, South East division, 1929 to 1930 (ref. DD/LC/26/1)
  • Coroner’s accounts, South East division, 1872 to 1896 (ref. DD/LC/32/1-2)
  • Transcripts of depositions in inquests, South East division, 1895 (ref. DD/S/TA/1)
  • Transcripts of depositions in inquests, Bishops Lydeard, Dunster and Skilgate, 1838 to 1839 (ref. DD/X/JF/15)
  • Details of inquests on infants under 12 months, no places given, 1844 to 1849 (ref. Q/C/4/7-9)
  • Inquests are very often reported in local newspapers or the national press if the inquest is one of public interest

Access by the public

All files are closed for 100 years with the exception of Treasure Trove files, which are closed for 30 years. You need to obtain permission from the relevant Coroner to consult a file less than 100 years old. Contact details can be found on the Coroners’ Society website. Most coroners will then supply you with the information directly, rather than giving permission for you to see a file at the Somerset Heritage Centre.

  • For the North Somerset division records contact the Avon Coroner
  • For the East Somerset, West Somerset and Somerset division records contact the Somerset Coroner
  • North Somerset division records after 1971 and Bristol City records from 1936 are held at Bristol Archives.
  • Inquests for the Bath area 1776 to 1835, 1929 to 1950, 1960 to 1962, 1968 to late 1980s, are held at Bath Record Office

Further reading

  • Burton, J.D.K., Chambers, D.R., and Gill, P.S. (1985) Coroners’ Enquiries, (not held here).
  • Gross, Charles, (1896), Select Cases from the Coroners rolls 1265-1413 with a brief account of the office of Coroner in Selden Society, vol. 9, (B/78/G).
  • Hunnisett, R.F., (1961), The Medieval Coroner, (L210-32).
  • Thurston, G. (1958) The Coroners’ Practice, (not held here).
  • A series of historical novels on “Crowner John” of Exeter (late 12th century) by Bernard Knight, a former Home Office Pathologist and Professor of Forensic Pathology at the University of Wales, are good for details of an early coroner’s responsibilities, (held at the West Country Studies Library).