Finding details of an Inquest

[AH]

I have just received the death certificate of an ancestor and it says uder cause of death

Sudden death. Natural causes. Brights ??Disease??

then under description and residence of informant it says

Certification received fromJohn Fred Spice Deputy Coroner for Lancashire.  Inquest held 3rd December 1894.

How do I find out more about an inquest? And is it worth it or are they just formalities (the date of death is 1894)?

Any help received with thanks!

[PaulineJ]

If you google "Brights disease", you find out it is a form of kidney disease.

So, I would suspect that the inquest was little more than a formality, given that it is declared as natural causes.

Pauline

[Sasha]

Hi,

In the first instance I'd contact the Archives office for the area you are interested in to see if any records of inquests have survived.

Alternatively, as you have the date of the inquest, try copies of the local newspapers for any details as inquests were sometimes reported.

Sasha.

[Chris in 1066Land]

Hi there AH

According to my Oracle:

Brights Disease (or Nephritus)
Middle age is a favourite time for the eruption of chronic organic disease, especially diseases which are associated with the excretory organs. It is the time when errors in personal hygiene begin to take their toll on health.  The tissues are beginning to lose their elasticity, they are less caple of responding to stress and strains and their vital forces to resist diseases are lessening.
Coupled with this slight natural decline, is an unfortunate tendency exhibited by many people to relax from the discipline of keeping fit. They are apt to be too indulgent in matters of food and drink; they slacken off in their physical recreations and they allow their intestinal function to become sluggish. The excretory activities of their kidneys are likely to be overtaxed, and they are thus rendered possible candidates for a chronic kidney disorder with all its possible complicatrions - hardening of the arteries and a high blood-pressure are the two factors which must be indicted as the chief activating causes of the disease.

Chris in 1066Land

[Darcy]

Hello AH  ,

I recently received an inquest report from 1882. The death certificate details were the same as the one you have - sudden death, natural causes. I contacted the local library and they found a newspaper report for me. It is a full column and goes into much detail about the family including their last meal together. I learned all sorts of details - even the name of the next door neighbour who gave evidence as to the distress of the family on finding the deceased. Trying to get an inquest report was well worth the effort.
Regards,
Aaron.

[Joy Dean]

It certainly is worth obtaining a copy of an inquest. Try the local records office for it.
I have two copies of inquests, they are fascinating, and show signatures of my relatives.
Do have a go!
Joy