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 02 February 2026

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 02 February  2026
Tuesday 03 February 2026
Wednesday 04 February 2026
Thursday 05 February 2026
Friday 06 February 2026

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 02 February 2026 to Friday 13 February 2026

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 02 February 2026	Gregor Grant	11.10.2023	Portugal	Bridport	10.00am	27	Brendan Allen
	Kirsty Townsend	04.08.2025	Poole	Bournemouth	10.00am	52	Richard Middleton
	Joan Furniss	03.08.2025	Ferndown	Ferndown	2.00pm	98	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 03 February 2026	Roger Douglas Hunter	08.08.2025	Bournemouth	Ferndown	10.00am	80	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 04 February  2026	Bruce Charles Randall	15.09.2025	Wareham	Wareham	10.00am	86	Richard Middleton
	Janet Deedman	23.11.2025	Poole	Ringwood	11.00am	83	Richard Middleton
	Anna Sorge	04.08.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	89	Richard Middleton
Thursday 05 February 2026	Annabelle Chance	11.05.2021	Poole	Bournemouth	10.00am	0	Rachael Griffin
	Kathleen Rowland	31.07.2025	Poole	Poole	10.00am	77	Richard Middleton
	Christopher Stephen Edmunds	08.08.2025	Wimborne	Wimborne	2.00pm	37	Richard Middleton
Friday 06 February 2026	Annabelle Chance	11.05.2021	Poole	Bournemouth	10.00am	0	Rachael Griffin
	Brian Allan Down	29.10.2025	Poole	Ferndown	10.00am	92	Richard Middleton
	Ian Richard Tegg	27.08.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	11.00am	47	Richard Middleton
	David John Wright	05.11.2025	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	12.00pm	84	Richard Middleton
	Patricia Mary Venn	06.11.2025	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	3.00pm	90	Richard Middleton
Monday 09 February 2026	Katherine Susan Jane Powell	25.01.2022	Bridport	Warwickshire	10.00am	17	Brendan Allen
	Jack Michael Williams	25.01.2022	Bridport	Bridport	10.00am	18	Brendan Allen
	Abbeygail Kimberley Bastick	16.01.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	37	Richard Middleton
	Colin Ashdown Ellis	13.12.2024	West Moors	Ferndown	14.00pm PIR	84	Rachael Griffin
Tuesday 10 February 2026	Katherine Susan Jane Powell	25.01.2022	Bridport	Warwickshire	10.00am	17	Brendan Allen
	Jack Michael Williams	25.01.2022	Bridport	Bridport	10.00am	18	Brendan Allen
	Peter Francis Lipp	10.08.2025	Dorchester	Exmouth	10.00am	75	Richard Middleton
	Gizela Malinowska	09.08.2025	Poole	Poole	12.00pm	59	Richard Middleton
	Simon Jon LeCras	15.03.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	50	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 11 February 2026	Katherine Susan Jane Powell	25.01.2022	Bridport	Warwickshire	10.00am	17	Brendan Allen
	Jack Michael Williams	25.01.2022	Bridport	Bridport	10.00am	18	Brendan Allen
	Tobye Louise Spencer	11.05.2025	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	58	Richard Middleton
Thursday 12 February 2026	Katherine Susan Jane Powell	25.01.2022	Bridport	Warwickshire	10.00am	17	Brendan Allen
	Jack Michael Williams	25.01.2022	Bridport	Bridport	10.00am	18	Brendan Allen
	Michael Jeffrey Lambell	15.08.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	76	Richard Middleton
	Geroge Edward James Haldenby	29.01.2022	Dorchester	Portland	11.00am PIR	56	Rachael Griffin
	Joey Michael Johnstone	09.04.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	28	Rachael Griffin
Friday 13 February 2026	Matthew Robert Luke Tomms	30.11.2024	Shaftesbury	Shaftesbury	11.00am PIR	42	Rachael Griffin
	Audrey Marian Davis	16.11.2025	Dorchester	Weymouth	11.00am	95	Richard Middleton
	Karin Morgan	14.10.2025	Poole	Poole	12.00pm	63	Richard Middleton
	Jung Boon Davies	23.11.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	2.00pm	91	Richard Middleton
	Calum Robert Hunter	18.08.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	2.00pm	37	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.