This article presents the method and first results of using the 1881 England and Wales Census Enumerators' Books (CEBs) to identify and extract employer records using occupational information. Over 230,000 employers are identified, of which about four fifths employ others. Important sub-groups are also identified of the own account selfemployed, company proprietors, directors and partnerships. The article demonstrates the feasibility of the method and uses the example of the building industry to illustrate firm-size distribution at parish level across England and Wales. The paper indicates the applicability of the extraction method to other censuses, which is now possible using the recently released I-CeM database. The paper also demonstrates some difficulties in the database for 1881, including data keying and coding errors, ranging from 0.5 to 5.5 per cent of entries for larger businesses. Gender miscoding appears to be a systematic error of about 0.7 per 1,000 people. The analysis suggests that where small or atypical sample groups are involved, users of the census database should make detailed checks with manuscript CEBs.

A review of evidence on infant mortality derived from the London bills of mortality and parish registers indicates that there were major registration problems throughout the whole of the parish register period. One way of addressing these problems is to carry out reconstitution studies of individual London parishes, but there are a number of problems with reconstitution methodology, including the traffic in corpses between parishes both inside and outside of London and the negligence of clergymen in registering both baptisms and burials. In this paper the triangulation of sources has been employed to measure the adequacy of burial registration, including the comparison of data from bills of mortality, parish registers and probate returns, as well as the use of the same-name technique. This research indicates that between 20 and 40 per cent of burials went unregistered in London during the parish register period.

Coroners’ records and newspaper reports of inquests are essential sources for local studies of homicide, suicide or fatal accidents, but in some parts of the country violent deaths that occurred in the 1840s and 1850s may be significantly under-recorded in this material. Historian and barrister J.D.J. Havard drew attention to the actions taken in this period by the magistrates of several counties in order to reduce the number of inquests held on fatal accidents and sudden natural deaths.1 His interest lay in the ease with which homicides could be concealed, and his emphasis was on those counties where the tightest restrictions were imposed. However, as magistrates had substantial freedom in managing county administration, there were widespread variations between counties, which Havard did not explore. In some counties, the actions of the magistrates led to a dramatic reduction in the number of inquests that were held, but in others the coroners continued to exercise their discretion without hindrance, or within loosely constructed local guidelines. An understanding of the nature and extent to which a particular county was affected is relevant to any analysis of the records of violent deaths in a local population. It can also lead the historian to additional records created to help the magistrates implement their chosen strategy or monitor their coroners’ activities, and these may provide useful supplementary information. This article aims to provide a broad overview of the nature and extent of the restrictions, together with details of the sources where county-specific information may be obtained.