The coroner's court may be mentioned in connection with criminal courts, for although it is not a criminal court it has some connection with criminal proceedings. There are some 350 coronerships in England and Wales. It is a very old office, originally designed for protecting the fiscal rights of the Crown. Violent deaths were a concern of the coroner because in the past they sometimes brought revenue to the Crown through fines, deodands, and forfeiture of the chattels of a convicted person. The coroner also had the custody of many records. In the course of time the holding of inquests on sudden deaths became the substantial part of the work of coroners. Nowadays the coroner is largely governed by statute, namely the Coroners Act 1988, which consolidates earlier legislation, and Rules made by the Lord Chancellor under delegated powers which this Act gives him. However, it is still the case that the office has more survivals of past ages than any other part of our system. Except where there are special rights, coroners for counties are appointed by the local government audiority for the area in question, the appointments being made from barristers, solicitors or legally qualified medical practitioners. The amount of work, and the salary, varies considerably in different localities.