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 11 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 11 May 2026	Beryl Young	24.04.2026	Poole	Bournemouth	92	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
	Scott James Smith	13.03.2026	Verwood	Verwood	51	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
	Alan Gammie	05.05.2026	Christchurch	Christchurch	89	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
Tuesday 12 May 2026
Wednesday 13 May 2026	Clarissa Stopp	05.12.2024	Bridport	Bridport	78	11.30am	Richard Middleton
	Benjamin Brian Hymus	22.06.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	29	11.30am	Richard Middleton
	Nancy Beatrice Freda Hamilton	17.08.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	4 months	11.30am	Richard Middleton
Thursday 14 May 2026	Saffron Hannah McDermott	30.03.2026	Dorchester	Dorchester	32	1.30pm	Richard Middleton
	Roccana Rochelle Pattison	02.03.2026	Weymouth	Weymouth	38	1.30pm	Richard Middleton
	Christopher Albert John Storey	10.05.2026	Poole	Bournemouth	81	1.30pm	Richard Middleton
Friday 15 May 2026

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 11 May 2026 to Friday 27 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 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
	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	Sarah Joanne Brasier	18.11.2025	Beaminster	Beaminster	53	9.00am	Brendan Allen
	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
Monday 18 May 2026	Michael John Shepherd	27.07.2025	Dorchester	Wareham	50	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	David John Parker	09.01.2026	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	88	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Doreen Elizabeth Player	01.02.2026	Poole	Poole	96	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 19 May 2026	Gerald Martin Lucas	25.02.2025	Malaysia	Bournemouth	76	10.00am (PIR)	Brendan Allen
			Treasure	Inquests
	Medieval Figurative Mount	29.05.2022	South Perrott	2022-T594		2.00pm	Brendan Allen
	Silver Gilt Roman Coin Pendant	19.03.2025	Puddletown	2025-T500		2.00pm	Brendan Allen
	Kenneth Hall	16.01.2026	Dorchester	Portland	82	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
	Kathleen Thompson	24.12.2025	Poole	Poole	90	2.30pm	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 20 May 2026	Mary Ann Howells	30.06.2023	Salisbury	Bournemouth	77	10.00am (PIR)	Brendan Allen
Thursday 21 May 2026	Tanya Annette Dodson	08.09.2025	Dorchester	Blandford Forum	38	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Benjeman Gerrard	26.04.2025	Bournemouth	No Fixed Abode	51	11.00am (PIR)	Rachael Griffin
	Colin Ashdown Ellis	13.12.2024	Ferndown	Ferndown	84	2.00pm (PIR)	Rachael Griffin
Friday 22 May 2026	Tanya Annette Dodson	08.09.2025	Dorchester	Blandford Forum	38	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Zachary Spencer Roe	25.03.2024	East Woodyates	Andover	9	11.00am (PIR)	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.