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.

The information on this page is only about our local Coroner, you can find out more about the role of a Coroner here.

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 04 May 2026

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

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Place of Death	Place of Residence	Age	Time of Hearing	Coroner
Monday 04 May 2026			BANK	HOLIDAY
Tuesday 05 May 2026	Geoffrey Scott Wickens	25.04.2026	Christchurch	Bournemouth	72	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 06 May 2026	Steven Cleverley	28.04.26	Portland	Portland	70	1.30pm	Richard Middleton
Thursday 07 May 2026	Lionel Francis Edward Jones	27.04.2026	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	82	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
	Lionel George Hake	02.05.2026	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	83	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
	Edward Thomas Merrett	29.04.2026	Bournemouth	Wimborne	85	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
Friday 81 May 2026

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 04 May 2026 to Friday 15 May 2026

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

Date	Deceased	Date of Death	Place of Death	Place of Residence	Age	Time of Hearing	Coroner
Monday 04 May 2026			BANK	HOLIDAY
Tuesday 05 May 2026	George Edward James Haldenby	29.01.2022	Dorchester	Portland	56	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	Lee Paul Hawkins	09.11.2025	Dorchester	Poole	37	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Geoffrey Scott Wickens	25.04.2026	Christchurch	Bournemouth	72	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
	Andrew Joseph Payne	03.11.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	50	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 06 May 2026	George Edward James Haldenby	29.01.2022	Dorchester	Portland	56	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	Robert William Anderson	21.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	42	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Lance Vernon Harris	28.09.2025	Poole	Bournemouth	76	10.00am	Richard Middleton
Thursday 07 May 2026	George Edward James Haldenby	29.01.2022	Dorchester	Portland	56	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	Lindsay Anne Leak	02.02.2026	Poole	Poole	42	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Jacqueline Nellie Singleton	09.04.2025	Bournemouth	New Milton	83	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Edward Thomas Merrett	24.04.2026	Bournemouth	Wimborne	85	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
Friday 08 May 2026	George Edward James Haldenby	29.01.2022	Dorchester	Portland	56	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	Jacqueline Nellie Singleton	09.04.2025	Bournemouth	New Milton	83	10.00am	Richard Middleton
Monday 11 May 2026	Thomas Kittiphum Gumbrill	10.02.2025	Poole	Poole	16	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Graeme Clark	11.11.2025	Poole	Poole	63	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Nadine Kowalski	16.11.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	29	2.00pm (PIR)	Brendan Allen
	Kathleen Ruth Cox	06.11.2025	Petersfield	Petersfield	100	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
	John Ronald Dennys	02.03.2026	Southampton	Shaftesbury	83	3.00pm	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 12 May 2026	George Edward James Haldenby	29.01.2022	`Dorchester	Portland	56	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	Graham Anthony Pace	04.11.2025	Christchurch	Christchurch	59	10.00am	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 13 May 2026	George Edward James Haldenby	29.01.2022	Dorchester	Portland	56	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	Gideon Luke Booker	11.04.2025	Wimborne	Wimborne	3	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Eunice Janet Mirsadgady	05.10.2025	Bournemouth	Swanage	83	10.00am	Richard Middleton
Thursday 14 May 2026	David Alan Copeland	11.11.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	52	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Pamela Eileen McGowan	06.05.2025	Dorchester	Weymouth	81	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Damian Paul Hutchings	26.11.2025	Poole	Bournemouth	38	2.00pm	Brendan Allen
Friday 15 May 2026	Esther Elizabeth Whatmore	05.07.2025	Poole	Poole	51	10.00am	Richard Middleton

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.