Inquisitions Post Mortem

An Inquisition Post Mortem (IPM) was a local inquiry held on the death of a tenant-in-chief of the Crown. Its purpose was to establish what lands the deceased had held, by what tenure, what those lands were worth, and who the rightful heir was. The Crown needed this information to collect the feudal dues owed on succession: relief, wardship of a minor heir, and the marriage of heirs and widows.

How the process worked

When a tenant-in-chief died, the Crown issued a writ (diem clausit extremum) to the escheator of the relevant county. The escheator empanelled a local jury, who gave evidence on oath. The jury was required to state: what manors and lands the deceased held; from whom they were held and by what service; what each property was worth per annum; when the deceased died; and who the next heir was, together with the heir's age. The escheator recorded the findings and returned them to the Chancery.

The information is precise because money depended on it. If the heir was under age, the Crown took custody of the lands and collected the revenues during the minority. If the heir was of age, the Crown collected a relief (a one-off payment) before allowing the heir into possession. The accuracy of the jury's findings determined the Crown's income.

What they contain

A typical IPM names the deceased tenant, lists each manor or parcel of land held, states the overlord and the form of tenure (knight service, serjeanty, socage), gives a valuation, and identifies the heir with their age and relationship to the deceased. Some IPMs include detailed extents: descriptions of the demesne land, meadow, pasture, woodland, rents of free tenants and villeins, the value of the court, and the profits of mills, fisheries, and markets.

This makes the IPM a snapshot of a manor at a single date. Where a series of IPMs survives for successive holders of the same manor, the descent can be traced generation by generation with dates, names, and valuations at each step.

Date range and survival

IPMs survive in a continuous series from the reign of Henry III (1216-1272) through to the abolition of the Court of Wards in 1646 during the Civil War. The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 confirmed the end of feudal tenures, and with them the need for IPMs ceased. The records are held at the National Archives in classes C 132 to C 142 (Chancery) and E 149 to E 150 (Exchequer).

The published Calendars of Inquisitions Post Mortem, issued by the Public Record Office and its successors, summarise the contents of each inquisition in English. The Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III series are complete. The calendars for later reigns are ongoing. All published volumes are freely available on British History Online.

Why IPMs matter for manorial research

IPMs are the single most important source for tracing the descent of English manors between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries. They provide dated, named, and valued evidence of who held what. The Victoria County History relies on IPMs as a primary source for its manorial descent sections. Where VCH coverage is incomplete, the published Calendars allow the researcher to trace the descent directly.