Records of the holders of this office, which dates back to the middle ages, have often failed to survive.
For Lancashire some records date back to the 17th century but most go back no further than the late 19th century by which time the county had been divided into districts under separate coroners.
The Borough of Salford, when it became a county borough in 1889, acquired the right to appoint its own coroner. Records of the Salford Borough Coroner (or from 1926 City Coroner) for the years 1912-25, 1932-35 and 1937-74 are held in the Greater Manchester County Records Office. They mostly give little information apart from the verdict and are subject to a 75-year embargo preventing their use by the public without the permission of the Greater Manchester Coroner West.
The remaining parts of the present city of Salford - Eccles, Swinton and Pendlebury, Irlam, and Worsley - came within the district of the Salford County Coroner. The surviving records of this coroner in Lancashire Record Office consist of papers for various years in the 1920s and from 1935 to 1971. A 75-year embargo also applies to these papers.
The best source of information about inquests often consists of reports in local newspapers, such as the Salford Borough Reporter (later the Salford City Reporter). Especially in the late 19th century such newspapers might well report the evidence given in an inquest in detail.