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 phones lines will be closed from 2pm on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Our address is : Town Hall, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth. BH2 6DY.

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, Mr Stephen Nicholls, Mr Grant Davies, Mrs Victoria Cook and Mrs Deborah Rookes. You can contact them at the Coroner's Court 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 it no later than 10am on the working day 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 26 September 2022

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 26 September 2022	Tanya Emma Roberts	15.09.2022	Weymouth	Yeovil	1.30pm	33	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 27 September 2022
Wednesday 28 September 2022
Thursday 29 September 2022
Friday 30 September 2022

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 26 September to Friday 07 October 2022

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

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Plce of Death	Place of Residence	Time of Hearing	Age	Coroner
Monday 26 September 2022	Graham Charles John Reading	21.08.2021	Bournemouth	Ryde	10.00am	62	Rachael Griffin
	Jack Cameron Bray	12.04.2022	Bridport	Newton Abbot	10.00am	20	Brendan Allen
	Kenneth Wright	13.09.2022	Dorchester	Weymouth	2.00pm	89	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 27 September 2022	Anita Kathleen Randall	04.04.2022	Dorchester	Shaftesbury	10.00am	61	Brendan Allen
	David Clifford Turner	08.12.2021	Bournemouth	Christchurch	2.00pm	79	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 28 September 2022	Kate Alana Johnson	10.03.2022	Poole	Poole	10.00am	36	Brendan Allen
	Ivan William Martin	10.02.2022	Bournemouth	Wimborne	10.30am	91	Richard Middleton
	Helen Christine Green	06.07.2021	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	84	Brendan Allen
	Russel James Faulkner	17.05.2022	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.30pm	51	Brendan Allen
Thursday 29 September 2022	Dean Nigel Clint Jeffery	20.01.2022	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.00am	40	Brendan Allen
	Christopher Wilson	21.12.2021	Weymouth	Weymouth	10.30am	47	Brendan Allen
	Julie Joanna Jayne Cox	28.10.2021	Poole	Poole	11.00am	60	Brendan Allen
	Margaret Elizabeth Lauderdale	16.12.2021	Poole	Broadstone	2.00pm	87	Brendan Allen
Friday 30 September 2022	Anita Faye Wyatt	12.12.2021	Dorchester	Dorchester	2.00pm (PIR)	52	Richard Middleton
Monday 03 October 2022	Peter Eric McCammon	13.04.2022	Bournemouth	New Milton	10.00am	87	Brendan Allen
	Irene Humes	07.04.2022	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	79	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 04 October 2022	Derek Henry Mitchell	06.01.2022	Dorchester	Weymouth	10.00am	81	Debbie Rookes
	David Alexander Ashley	16.03.2022	Italy	Poole	11.00am (PIR)	49	Racheal Griffin
	Domenico De Lucia	23.10.2021	Bournemouth	Clitheroe	2.00pm	36	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 05 October 2022	James Paterson	26.12.2021	Verwood	Verwood	9.30am	97	Brendan Allen
	Claire Louise Wilson	17.02.2022	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	37	Brendan Allen
	Bryan John Speed	27.12.2021	Christchurch	Street	10.00am	80	Richard Middleton
	Ann Marueen Vanstone	15.12.2021	Poole	Swanage	2.00pm	91	Richard Middleton
Thursday 06 October 2022	Peter Michael Jacobs	30.03.2022	Bournemouth	Westbury	10.00am	74	Brendan Allen
	Michelle Amy Gilhooley	14.10.2021	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	39	Richard Middleton
	Valerie Sarah Hodson	21.04.2022	New Milton	New Milton	2.00pm	72	Brendan Allen
	Richard John Watts	16.10.2021	Dorchester	Dorchester	2.00pm	70	Richard Middleton
Friday 07 October 2022	Timothy Finnigan	22.04.2022	Dorchester	Dorchester	10.00am	68	Richard Middleton
	Bradleigh Trevor Barnes	28.12.2019	Portland	Portland	11.30am (PIR)	23	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.