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 14 April 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 14 April 2025	Joseph Varty	06.04.2024	Poole	Wimborne	1.30pm	77	Brendan Allen
	Wendy June Mears	03.04.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	83	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 15 April 2025
Wednesday 16 April 2025
Thursday 17 April 2025
Friday 18 April 2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 14 April 2025 to Friday 25 April 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 14 April 2025	James Philip Edmeads	21.11.2024	Ferndown	Ferndown	10.00am	25	Richard Middleton
	Marion Jean Bernacki	05.12.2024	Portland	Portland	11.00am	93	Richard Middleton
	Alan Thomas Williams	09.01.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	12.00pm	82	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 15 April 2025	Paul Keith Cunningham	25.12.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	60	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 16 April 2025	John Joseph McMahon	09.12.2024	Gillingham	Gillingham	10.00am	80	Richard Middleton
	Norman Thomas Marchant	05.11.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	11.00am	92	Richard Middleton
	Jane Nash	03.11.2024	Dorchester	Weymouth	12.00pm	78	Richard Middleton
	Alan Cyril Keys	18.01.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	14.00pm	77	Richard Middleton
	Daniel John Jordan	06.11.2024	Christchurch	Christchurch	3.00pm	58	Richard Middleton
Thursday 17 April 2025	Nicholas Crewe	02.05.2024	Poole	Bournemouth	10.00am	78	Brendan Allen
	Emily Charlotte Sherwin	23.07.2024	Studland	Poole	10.00am	20	Richard Middleton
	David Edward Hugh Bigham	24.08.2024	Bridport	Beaminster	2.00pm	86	Richard Middleton
Friday 18 April 2025			BANK HOLIDAY	BANK HOLIDAY
Monday 21 April 2025			BANK HOLIDAY	BANK HOLIDAY
Tuesday 22 April 2025	Philip Thomas Eldridge	02.08.2024	Dorchester	Portland	2.00pm (PIR)	58	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 23 April 2025	Graham Ernest Sawyer	08.02.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	92	Brendan Allen
Thursday 24 April 2025	Felicity Ann Scovell	19.08.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	56	Brendan Allen
	Charlotte Katie Mae Avis	01.12.2022	Sherborne	Sherborne	11.00am (PIR)	30	Rachael Griffin
Friday 25 April 2025

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.