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 06 April 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 06 April 2026		BANK	HOLIDAY
Tuesday 07 April 2026	Brian Raymond Parkes	21.03.2026	Bournemouth	Ferndown	90	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 08 April 2026
Thursday 09 April 2026
Friday 10 April 2026

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 06 April 2026 to Friday 17 April 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 06 April 2026		BANK	HOLIDAY
Tuesday 07 April 2026	Edgar Charles Frederick Riches	13.03.2025	Nairobi	Poole	78	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Brian Raymond Parkes	21.03.2026	Bournemouth	Ferndown	90	1.30pm	Brendan Allen
Wednesday 08 April 2026	Justin Peter Loveland	17.05.2025	Southampton	Dorchester	50	10.00am	Brendan Allen
Thursday 09 April 2026	Danny Albert Egon	18.10.2025	Poole	Poole	35	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
Friday 10 April 2026	Kieran Thomas Penaluna	01.11.2025	Southampton	Poole	24	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Arthur Derrick Hudspith	12.01.2026	Bournemouth	Ringwood	90	11.00am	Richard Middleton
	Graham Stuart Bilsland	28.12.2025	Poole	Poole	75	12.00pm	Richard Middleton
	Stephen William Oman	07.01.2026	Poole	Blandford Forum	70	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
	Margaret Rose Roberts	15.01.2026	Poole	Poole	89	3.00pm	Richard Middleton
Monday 13 April 2026	Daniel Lee Blake	17.07.2025	Sturminster Newton	Sturminster Newton	47	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Robert William Reginald Peckham	01.10.2025	Poole	Christchurch	83	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
	Pamela Ann Davies	31.12.2025	Bournemouth	Christchurch	85	3.00pm	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 14 April 2026	Mark Jackson	26.03.2025	Dorchester	Dorchester	70	10.00am (PIR)	Brendan Allen
	Joan Margaret Hawkins	13.10.2025	Poole	Bournemouth	81	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Timothy Darrell Newbound	07.11.2025	Poole	Poole	44	2.00pm	Brendan Allen
	Timothy Simon  Jeynes	03.01.2025	Australia	Herefordshire	61	3.00pm	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 15 April 2026	Robert William  Anderson	21.05.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	42	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Adam Martin Lawrence Fall	12.12.2025	Dorchester	Bournemouth	47	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Sally Ann Wright	19.12.2025	Dorchester	Weymouth	92	12.00pm	Richard Middleton
Thursday 16 April 2026	John Furgus Cox	17.09.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	30	10.00am (PIR)	Brendan Allen
	Brian Reginald Everson	20.01.2026	Weymouth	Weymouth	88	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Simon Clifford Wright	03.01.2026	Morcombelake	Bedfordshire	63	11.00am	Richard Middleton
	James Stuart Baker	30.08.2025	Bridport	Bridport	47	2.00pm	Brendan Allen
	David Peter Macrow	13.02.2026	Poole	Swanage	62	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
	Robert Jerome Stone	14.12.2025	Dorchester	Dorchester	87	3.00pm	Richard Middleton
Friday 17 April 2026	William Timothy Clarke	03.07.2025	Christchurch	Bournemouth	66	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	George Edward James Haldenby	29.01.2022	Dorchester	Portland	56	11.00am (PIR)	Rachael Griffin
	Silver Gilt Annular Brooch - 2025 T1010		TREASURE	INQUEST		2.00pm	Rachael Griffin
	Douglas Michael Free	18.02.2026	France	Dorchester	76	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
	Kerry-Anne Treacy	28.10.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	38	3.00pm	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.