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 23 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 23 February  2026
Tuesday 24 February 2026
Wednesday 25 February 2026
Thursday 26 February 2026
Friday 27 February 2026

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 23 February 2026 to Friday 06 March 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 23 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
	Phillip Douglas Hart	13.07.2025	Wimborne	Bournemouth	10.00am (PIR)	47	Richard Middleton
	Derek Leslie Skipp	25.08.2025	Blandford Forum	Blandford Forum	12.00pm	87	Richard Middleton
	Jacqueline Nellie Singleton	09.04.2025	Bournemouth	New Milton	2.00pm (PIR)	83	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 24 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
	Wayne Michael Standing	26.12.2024	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	29	Richard Middleton
	Christopher Mark Deavin	12.12.2025	Yeovil	Sherborne	2.00pm	95	Richard Middleton
	Kelvin Francis Edmond Howells	11.12.2025	Dorchester	Lyme Regis	3.00pm	81	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 25 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
Thursday 26 February 2026	Susan Ann Gardner	22.11.2024	Poole	Poole	10.00am	66	Rachael Griffin
	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
	Russell John Lambert	06.09.2025	Portland	Portland	10.00am	56	Richard Middleton
Friday 27 February 2026	Susan Ann Gardner	22.11.2024	Poole	Poole	10.00am	66	Rachael Griffin
	Stephen Mark James	10.12.2025	Poole	Poole	2.00pm	65	Richard Middleton
Monday 02 March 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
	Doreen Lilian Taylor	03.09.2025	Bridport	Bridport	10.00am	89	Richard Middleton
	Stuart Matthew Howes	22.08.2025	Wool	Weymouth	2.00pm	44	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 03 March 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
	Phillip Douglas Hart	13.07.2025	Wimborne	Bournemouth	10.00am	47	Richard Middleton
	Alison Newman	08.07.2025	Dorchester	Beaminster	2.00pm (PIR)	44	Rachael Griffin
	Raymond John Platt	05.09.2025	Dorchester	Weymouth	2.00pm	46	Richard Middleton
	Andrew Robert Hayden	06.09.2025	Poole	Wareham	3.00pm	56	Richard Middleton
Wednesday 04 March 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
	James Clinton Walmsley	04.09.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	48	Richard Middleton
	James Michael Shelley	10.09.2025	Bournemouth	Salisbury	11.00am	76	Richard Middleton
Thursday 05 March 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
	Scott David Hayne	21.12.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	2.00pm	49	Richard Middleton
	Naeem Ahmed	21.06.2025	Poole	Wimborne	11.00am (PIR)	50	Rachael Griffin
	Jet Cameron Thomas-Day	23.08.2025	Crossways	Weymouth	2.00pm	22	Richard Middleton
Friday 06 March 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
	Graham Hazzard	11.12.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	10.00am	75	Richard Middleton
	Terry David Hurrell	11.12.2025	Dorchester	Bridport	11.00am	81	Richard Middleton
	Jon Kenneth Hawkins	12.12.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	12.00pm	37	Richard Middleton
	Mervyn Derek Harris	09.12.2025	Southampton	Bournemouth	3.00pm	84	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.