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 19 May 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 19 May 2025	Norman Leary	12.05.2025	Wimborne	Wimborne	1.30pm	86	Richard Middleton
	Dorcas Annette Merrifield	04.05.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	77	Richard Middleton
	Amelia Jane James	07.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	41	Richard Middleton
	Valerie Dawn Preston	08/05/2025	Bournemouth	Poole	1.30pm	83	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 20 May 2025
Wednesday 21 May 2025	Lucy Karen Thompsett	05.05.2025	Poole	Wareham	1.30pm	52	Brendan Allen
	Frederick Paul Thomas	25.04.2025	Poole	Poole	1.30pm	71	Brendan Allen
	Hazelle Grace West	26.08.2024	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	1.30pm	0	Brendan Allen
	Jacob Saxton-Upton	13.06.2024	Poole	Sutton-in-Ashfield	1.30pm	0	Brendan Allen
	Lance De La Cour	14.04.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	1.30pm	50	Brendan Allen
Thursday 22 May 2025	Robert Francis Fulford	07.05.2025	Yeovil	Sturminster Newton	1.30pm	96	Richard Middleton
Friday 23 May 2025

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 19 May 2025 to Friday 30 May 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 19 May 2025	Colin David Lovett	29.10.2022	Portland	Portland	10.00am	53	Rachael Griffin
	Robert Bruce Stephens	28.05.2021	Portland	Portland	10.00am	83	Brendan Allen
	Margaret Ann Barnes	03.10.2024	Brighton	Brighton	10.00am	88	Richard Middleton
	Wayne John Wigley	16.02.2025	Bere Regis	Weymouth	11.30am	64	Richard Middleton
	Andrew Wickham	25.08.2024	Studland	Bournemouth	2.00pm	52	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 20 May 2025	Colin David Lovett	29.10.2022	Portland	Portland	10.00am	53	Rachael Griffin
	Robert Bruce Stephens	28.05.2021	Portland	Portland	10.00am	83	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 21 May 2025	Colin David Lovett	29.10.2022	Portland	Portland	10.00am	53	Rachael Griffin
	Clive Robert George Bealing	09.10.2024	Corfe Castle	Salisbury	10.00am	74	Debbie Rookes
	Stephanie Jayne Burden	12.10.2024	Dorchester	Dorchester	2.00pm	36	Debbie Rookes
	Carol Ann Heritage	22.02.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	64	Brendan Allen
Thursday 22 May 2025	Colin David Lovett	29.10.2022	Portland	Portland	10.00am	53	Rachael Griffin
	Kirstie Louise Coleman	19.12.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	11.00am	53	Richard Middleton
	Hazel Lily Lake	17.11.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	12.00pm	89	Richard Middleton
Friday 23 May 2025	Colin David Lovett	29.10.2022	Portland	Portland	10.00am	53	Rachael Griffin
	John Roland Evans	26.09.2024	Dorchester	Portland	10.00am	83	Richard Middleton
Monday 26 May 2025			BANK	HOLIDAY
Tuesday 27 May 2025	Colin David Lovett	29.10.2022	Portland	Portland	10.00am	53	Rachael Griffin
	Mark Timmins	17.06.2024	Sherborne	Sherborne	10.00am	54	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 28 May 2025	Colin David Lovett	29.10.2022	Portland	Portland	10.00am	53	Rachael Griffin
Thursday 29 May 2025	Norman Sean Stanley	06.09.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	77	Richard Middleton
Friday 30 May 2025	Jean Crompton	19.04.2024	Poole	New Milton	10.00am	91	Richard Middleton
	Miranda Kate Pearce	19.12.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	65	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.