The Coroner for Suffolk

How to contact the Coroners Service in Suffolk and useful information for the bereaved

Mr Nigel Parsley is HM Senior Coroner for Suffolk.

He is assisted in his duties by:

Area Coroner: Mr Darren Stewart OBE
Assistant Coroners: Dr Dan Sharpstone, Mr Tim Deeming, Mr Peter Taheri , Mrs Catherine Wood

You can use the tabs below to find out more about the role of the Coroner in Suffolk.

The Coroner will investigate a death if:

it was violent, unnatural or suspicious
the cause of death is unknown
the person died in prison, police custody or any type of state detention

Investigating a death may be as simple as consulting with the doctor who last treated the person who has died, or a post-mortem examination may be needed.

In some cases, an inquest may be opened, which is a judicial inquiry into the death.

A case takes place in the Coroner Court. The Coroner Court rooms are at Beacon House, Ipswich.

The Coroner has a team of officers. They liaise on his behalf with bereaved relatives, police, doctors, mortuary staff, hospital bereavement staff and funeral directors.

Coroner's Officers are the people you will speak to when you get in touch with the office.

If an inquest is opened into your relative's death, one particular officer will take responsibility for the case. They will then be your ongoing point of contact.

The Coroners Court and offices, Beacon House, Whitehouse Road, Ipswich, IP1 5PB

NB: On Thursday 21st November 2024, you may experience a delay in calls being answered due to staff training. Please do leave us a message, or send an email, and an officer will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.

Telephone: 0345 607 2040

Open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4pm
Closed weekends and bank holidays
For immediate help following a death you may find the following link helpful: Bereavement Advice Centre | What to Do When Someone Dies
Family information leaflet for situations where a death has been attended by a Police Officer:

Coroners ambulance service
PDF931KB

Visiting Beacon House

Directions, parking and accessibility (PDF, 336KB)
Public transport on suffolkonboard.com

For information about reporting a death, please refer to reporting deaths to the Coroner.

For general enquiries, please email the Coroner's administration team:

Email: admin.coroners@suffolk.gov.uk
Telephone: 0345 607 2040, dial option 3

Information for visitors

The Coroner's court is wheelchair accessible.

We operate an ‘Appointment only’ policy for visitors to the Coroner’s Office.

We regret we cannot accept visitors without a pre-arranged appointment.

Appointments can be made by calling 0345 6072040

The phone line is only available between 09:30am and 4:00pm.

This policy does not apply to Inquest hearings held in our public courts which are open to all.

Comments and compliments

Download the Coroner Service complaints and compliments policy
PDF183KB

Privacy notice

Read the Suffolk Coroner's Service privacy notice.

Further information

GOV.UK has a short guide to coroner services and coroner investigations.

Easy read resource

What does a Coroner do and what is an inquest? (PDF, 614KB)

Bereavement support services and how they can help you

A list of organisations offering support and advice for adults and children on coping with a death.


The Bereavement Register	Helps to reduce the amount of direct mail sent to the address of a person who has died.
Bereaved by Suicide Service Bereaved by Suicide service in Suffolk and North East Essex - Victim Support 0808 16 89 111	Losing a loved one to suicide is an extremely traumatic experience. Bereaved by Suicide Service aims to ease the distress and improve the wellbeing of those in Suffolk (with the exception of the Waveney area) and Colchester and Tendring who have been bereaved by suicide. They provide emotional support, practical help and signposting to other organisations.
The Coroners' Courts Support Service	A registered charity whose volunteers give emotional and practical support to families and other witnesses attending inquests. Suffolk Coroner's Service works with the charity to ensure families feel supported through the inquest process.
Cruse Bereavement Care	Provides support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies.
INQUEST	Provides free and independent advice to bereaved people following a death in state care or detention in England and Wales.
The Lullaby Trust	Offers confidential bereavement support to anyone affected by the sudden and unexpected death of a baby or young child.
The Money Advice Service	Free and impartial money advice, including information about paying for a funeral.
Norfolk & Waveney MIND Norfolk and Waveney Mind 0300 330 5488	The service focuses on supporting individuals in the immediacy of loss. This can be both emotional and practical support.
Roads Victims Trust Road Victims Trust 01234 843345	The Roads Victims Trust is a charity dedicated to supporting people who have been affected by the grief and trauma of a road death or a serious injury or life changing injury collisions. Their services are available to family, friends and colleagues of the person who has been killed or injured as well as witnesses of fatal and life changing injury road collisions.

The Coroner for Suffolk

What is a Coroner?

What does a Coroner do?

What is a Coroner's Officer?

Contact the Coroner Court and offices

Further information

Easy read resource

Bereavement support services and how they can help you