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 31 August 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 31 August 2026			Bank	Holiday
Tuesday 01 September 2026	John Alexander Kelly	18.08.2026	Poole	Bournemouth82	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 02 September 2026
Thursday 03 September 2026
Friday 04 September 2026

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 31 August 2026 to Friday 11 September 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 31 August 2026		BANK	HOLIDAY
Tuesday 01 September 2026	Lucy Nicole Bryant	21.09.2025	Blandford Forum	Blandford Forum	28	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Quentin John Griffiths	09.02.2026	Pattaya Thailand	Pattaya Thailand	58	11.00am (P.I.R)	Rachael Griffin
Wednesday 02 September 2026
Thursday 03 September 2026	Claire Elizabeth Yates	08.03.2026	Christchurch	Bournemouth	58	10.00am (P.I.R)	Richard Middleton
Friday 04 September 2026	Tania Bowden	01.07.2025	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	58	11.00am	Richard Middleton
	Terence Clive Ridyard	16.06.2026	Dorchester	Portland	63	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
	Susan Barbara Godden	18.06.2026	Bournemouth	Poole	79	3.00pm	Richard Middleton
Monday 07 September 2026	Ischia Montagu-LaPlaca	16.02.2024	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	16	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	John Maurice Drake	23.10.2024	Swanage	Swanage	91	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Peter Melville	19.12.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	71	10.00am (PIR)	Richard Middleton
	Peter Smith	12.03.2026	Ferndown	Ferndown	57	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
	Louise Owens	19.04.2026	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	47	3.00pm	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 08 September 2026	Ischia Montagu-LaPlaca	16.02.2024	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	16	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	John Maurice Drake	23.10.2024	Swanage	Swanage	91	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Marcin Bogdan Gajda	20.05.2026	Poole	Poole	42	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Colin Richard Stewart Harris	30.01.2026	Wareham	Wareham	38	2.00pm (PIR)	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 09 September 2026	Ischia Montagu-LaPlaca	16.02.2024	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	16	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	John Maurice Drake	23.10.2024	Swanage	Swanage	91	10.00am	Brendan Allen
Thursday 10 September 2026	Ischia Montagu-LaPlaca	16.02.2024	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	16	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	John Maurice Drake	23.10.2024	Swanage	Swanage	91	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Christopher Albert John Storey	10.05.2026	Poole	Bournemouth	81	10.00am	Richard Middleton
Friday 11 September 2026	Ischia Montagu-LaPlaca	16.02.2024	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	16	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	John Maurice Drake	23.10.2024	Swanage	Swanage	91	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Paul Heatherton-Geairns	28.09.2025	Poole	Poole	67	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.