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 24 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 24 August 2026	Jack Philip Lake	27.07.2026	Bristol	Dorchester	33	1.30pm	Rachael Griffin
	Walter Spiller	07.08.2026	Poole	Bournemouth	90	1.30pm	Rachael Griffin
Tuesday 25 August 2026	John Christopher Bartlett	09.08.2026	Christchurch	Christchurch	90	1.30pm	Rachael Griffin
Wednesday 26 August 2026
Thursday 27 August 2026
Friday 28 August 2026

Inquests to be held week commencing Monday 24 August 2026 to Friday 4 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 24 August 2026	Scott James Smith	13.03.2026	Verwood	Verwood	51	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Eleanor Katherine Stephens	26.03.2025	Poole	Poole	27	11.00am (PIR)	Rachael Griffin
	Malcolm Campbell Law	04.12.2025	Weymouth	Weymouth	65	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
Tuesday 25 August 2026	Paul Anthony Winkworth	20.01.2026	Ringwood	Southampton	55	10.00am	Brendan Allen
	Kelly-Ann Campbell	03.11.2025	Ferndown	Ferndown	44	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Jazmin Pickersgill	12.12.2025	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	23	11.00am (PIR)	Rachael Griffin
Wednesday 26 August 2026	Mary Elizabeth Burt	12.03.2026	Weymouth	Weymouth	63	10.00am	Brendan Allen
Thursday 27 August 2026	Imogen Eve Amesbury	12.01.2022	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	21	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	Eva Varna	22.02.2025	Poole	Poole	47	10.00am (PIR)	Brendan Allen
	Damian Thomas Cummins	24.03.2026	Christchurch	Christchurch	77	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	George Edward Paul Stacey	26.03.2026	Christchurch	Christchurch	22	2.00pm	Brendan Allen
	Roy Fernley Bailey	04.12.2025	Sherborne	Sherborne	86	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
Friday 28 August 2026	Imogen Eve Amesbury	12.01.2022	Lyme Regis	Lyme Regis	21	10.00am	Rachael Griffin
	Barbara Anne Hibberd	05.06.2026	Ferndown	Ferndown	91	10.00am	Richard Middleton
	Ann Christine Brandon	30.05.2026	Southampton	Guernsey	88	11.00am	Richard Middleton
	Ian Philip Wellman	26.11.2025	Verwood	Verwood	62	2.00pm	Richard Middleton
Monday 31 August 2026		BANK	HOLIDAY
Tuesday 1 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 2 September 2026	Ziam Anthony Kingsley Congdon	21.02.2024	Southampton	Yeovil	28	10.00am (P.I.R)	Brendan Allen
Thursday 3 September 2026	Claire Elizabeth Yates	08.03.2026	Christchurch	Bournemouth	58	10.00am (P.I.R)	Richard Middleton
Friday 4 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

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.