The office of the coroner was created in 1194, when coroners were appointed to look into cases of sudden or unexplained death; from 1752 to 1860, coroners were required to file their inquests at the court of the quarter sessions (See Quarter Sessions Records, QSD).
Denbighshire had only one coroner until, following an Act of 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c.92), the County was divided into two districts- East and West Denbighshire. After 1844 formal statements were collected from people who witnessed the events leading up to the death and the jury, generally 12 local people, used this information to decide on the cause of death. The coroners role has evolved over time and now is primarily concerned with cases of sudden or suspicious death.
From 1974, northeast Wales was covered by three districts: East Clwyd, covering most of the old county of Flintshire, West Clwyd, covering most of the old county of Denbighshire, and South Clwyd, covering the Wrexham area.