Those inquisitions post mortem which have survived from the reign of Henry III were calendared in our volume for 1920; those held between 1272 and 1286 in the time of Edward I are now presented in calendar form. Unfortunately, the series of these documents is very imperfect; at the death of anyone who was or might be proved to be a tenant in chief from the Crown or to hold his land by military service, a separate inquisition was generally taken locally for each of his manors or group of manors, by or for the Escheator; but since many of the returns have disappeared, those which remain may mislead, as they often deal with a mere part of the deceased's estate. The object of the enquiry was to determine what dues and duties the estate might owe to the Crown.

Under a special writ, issued from the Exchequer, each inquisition was usually held at the manor which it concerned by the Escheator or his deputy; it was the finding by a jury of twelve or more ‘lawful’ men drawn from that and neighbouring manors, who were presumed to know the desired facts. These records often give invaluable detail of prices, tenures, and so forth, which can be obtained from no other source. Many of these details are necessarily omitted from the admirable summary calendars of these inquisitions issued by the Public Record Office, but are essential to local history.