My forebear Thomas was killed by a horse. Where can I find the details of the inquest?
QMy ancestor Thomas Mayes died on 5 October 1882, aged 32 years, in the village of Thurning, Oundle, Northamptonshire, after being “accidentally kicked by a horse”, according to the death certificate. An inquest was held on 9 October 1882.
Where can I find the details of the inquest to discover exactly what happened to Thomas?
Patricia A Davis
ASadly, not all inquest records survive. Most of those that do are held at local archives. There are no records of coroners’ inquests available to view online.
The details on the death certificate provide some useful information though. You know that the inquest into your forebear Thomas Mayes’ death on 5 October 1882 was held on 9 October 1882. The location of his death, Thurning, as you mentioned, is a village close to the town of Oundle. This was in the probate court of the Bishop of Peterborough (Episcopal Consistory), which was then in Northamptonshire. So it seems that the inquest should have taken place in Northamptonshire.
In general, the best way to check whether inquest records have survived is to consult Coroners’ Records in England and Wales by Jeremy Gibson and Colin Rogers (3rd edition, the Family History Partnership, 2009). Celia Heritage’s Tracing Your Ancestors Through Death Records (Pen & Sword, 2013) also contains a helpful chapter on inquest records.
On checking in Gibson and Rogers’ book, I found that Northamptonshire Record Office (as it was at the time of publication) holds surviving inquest returns for the Soke (or Liberty) of Peterborough (Nassaburgh Hundred) for 1813 and 1821–1842. It also holds “various other records, as yet unlisted, 1822, 1827, 1842–1948* Coroner’s deposit”. Peterborough coroners’ inquests 1822–1925 are held at Peterborough Archives (accession number 1965/191): vivacity.org/things-to-do/ peterborough-archives.
Where an inquest does not survive for an accidental death such as this, it is worth searching for a court report or news account in the local newspaper. Unfortunately, a general search of the British Newspaper Archive ( britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk and
findmypast.co.uk) did not reveal anything related to this event. However, newspapers are continually being added to the database, so it is worth checking again in the future.
You should also contact Northamptonshire Archives northamptonshire.gov.uk/ councilservices/archives-and-heritage/ northamptonshire-archives as well as Peterborough Archives to clarify what they both hold that may be relevant to your research. They should also be able to give you advice about which local newspapers to search and where they are held.
Emma Jolly