A Coroner is an independent judicial officer. They are assisted by Coroner’s Officers and secretarial staff.

The Coroner investigates and records the causes and circumstances of all deaths where the cause is unknown, or that was violent or unnatural, or occurred whilst the deceased was in lawful custody.

This information is only about our local Coroner, you can find out more about the role of a Coroner.

If you are concerned about a death you are entitled to raise these concerns with the Coroner.

Our Office is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm and on Fridays 9am to 3.30pm, except for Bank Holidays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Our address is : Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth. BH2 6DY.

01202 123 900

coroner.service@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

The Coroner's team

The Senior Coroner for Dorset is Mrs Rachael Griffin. The Area Coroner for Dorset is Mr Brendan Allen. The Assistant Coroners are Mr Richard Middleton, Mrs Victoria Cook and Mrs Deborah Rookes. You can contact them at the Coroner's Office.

The Senior Coroner for Dorset covers deaths that occur in the administrative county of Dorset or where the body of a deceased person is found in Dorset, even if they died elsewhere.

The Assistant Coroners act when the Senior Coroner is not available. They have the full powers of the Senior Coroner.

Find out about inquest hearings

You can find all publicly available information here. Please do not contact the Coroner's Court office, staff or police press office as they cannot give you any further information.

In Person Attendance and Remote access for members of the Press and Public

The courts are open to members of the press and the public, except in exceptional circumstances.

If you wish to attend court in person, it would be helpful if you could notify our offices in advance.

Under the current legislation, participants to inquests including interested persons and witnesses are permitted, with the Coroner's approval, to attend remotely.

For anyone wishing to observe remotely, permission from the Coroner may also be granted.

All requests to attend hearings remotely will be placed before the Coroner for approval. In order to allow sufficient time to consider any request please complete the relevant document, with as much detail as possible and submit a minimum of two working days prior to the hearing. The form is accessed by clicking the above link.

The document must then be submitted by email to: coroner.service@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Inquests to be opened week commencing Monday 24 February 2025

Location: Dorset Coroner's Court, Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, BH2 6DY

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Place of Death	Place of Residence	Time of Hearing	Age	Coroner
Monday 24 February 2025
Tuesday 25 February 2025
Wednesday 26 February 2025
Thursday 27 February 2025
Friday 28 February  2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 24 February 2025 to Friday 07 March 2025

Location: Dorset Coroner's Court, Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, BH2 6DY

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Place of Death	Place of Residence	Time of Hearing	Age	Coroner
Monday 24 February 2025
Tuesday 25 February 2025	Verena Dalling	11.11.2024	Broadstone	Broadstone	2.00pm	86	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 26 February 2025	John Keith Tamblyn	13.09.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	81	Richard Middleton
	Linda Mary Sanford	15.07.2025	Poole	Bournemouth	2.00pm	73	Brendan Allen
	Deirdre Kay Barrett	19.10.2024	Dorchester	Waymouth	3.00pm	71	Richard Middleton
Thursday 27 February 2025	Marta Elena Vento	09.12.2020	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	27	Rachael Griffin
	Enid Margaret Ling	09.06.2024	Sherbourne	Sherbourne	10.00am	91	Richard Middleton
	Ian Michael Webber	27.07.2024	Dorchester	Dorchester	11.30am	58	Richard Middleton
	Patricia Alice Meredith-Foster	28.09.2024	Poole	Bournemouth	2.00pm	91	Richard Middleton
	Nicola Sarah Wingate	30.08.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	3.00pm	50	Richard Middleton
Friday 28 February 2025	David James Juniper	13.08.2024	Dorchester	Bridport	10.00am	78	Richard Middleton
	Ethan Downes-Smith	17.05.2021	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	11.00am (PIR)	1 month	Rachael Griffin
Monday 03 March 2025	Grietje Jantina Harris- Browner	06.05.2025	Gillingham	Gillingham	10.00am	58	Brendan Allen
	Stephen Michael Matthews	27.08.2024	Dorchester	Weymouth	10.00am	51	Richard Middleton
	John Tucker	04.05.2024	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	77	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 04 March 2025	Benjamin John Lake	06.06.2024	Poole	Poole	10.00am	39	Brendan Allen
	Leonard Farruku	12.12.2023	Portland	Portland	2.00pm (PIR)	27	Rachael Griffin
	Sheila Anne Brown	08.09.2024	Bournemouth	Wimborne	2.00pm	80	Richard Middleton
	Barbara Anne Dryden	22.08.2024	Bournemouth	Wimborne	3.00pm	76	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 05 March 2025	Sarah Joy Munro Bircham	06.10.2024	Wareham	Wareham	10.00am	70	Richard Middleton
Thursday 06 March 2025	Stephen John Breen	23.07.2024	Studland	Camberley	10.00am	52	Brendan Allen
	Neil Torpey	16.09.2024	Christchurch	Christchurch	10.00am	49	Richard Middleton
	Oliver John Roberts	28.01.2024	Bournemouth	Fordingbridge	11.00am (PIR)	29	Rachael Griffin
	Maureen Sylvia Hemmings	25.10.2024	Dorchester	Blandford Forum	11.00am	86	Richard Middleton
	Joanna Marie Coral	15.05.2024	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	67	Richard Middleton
	Roger Briggs	08.10.2024	Dorchester	Dorchester	3.00pm	77	Richard Middleton
Friday 07 March 2025	Gerald Martin Breeze	28.07.2024	Poole	Bournemouth	10.00am	81	Richard Middleton
	Annie Teresa Mitchell	13.09.2023	Christchurch	Christchurch	11.00am	87	Rachael Griffin

Complaints about a Coroner's decision or the outcome of an Inquest can only be dealt with through proceedings in the High Court. The Coroner's office can explain the procedure, but cannot give legal advice. If you are researching past cases you have to apply to the Coroner in writing first before you can be given the information you are requesting.

Requests for more information

For more detailed information and/or copies of documents, you need to explain your relationship to the deceased and why you want the information.

Feedback and complaints

All complaints about the administration of the Dorset Coroner Service, or the conduct of individual coroners or their officers should first be raised by writing to the senior Coroner.

The Coroner cannot normally discuss cases which she is or has been involved with, but comments and suggestions on improving the Coroner Service are always welcome.