PATERSON, Hon Mrs (Rose Emily nee RIDLEY) (1956-2020)
colinp
Richard R
TELEGRAPH
EXTRACT
Rose Paterson, Aintree chairman and wife of Owen who invigorated the Grand National – obituary
As a ‘political wife’ of charm and beauty she fought her husband's cause; at Aintree she brought greater safety for horses and bigger crowds
A less well-known aspect of her contribution to public life was the very active support she gave to her husband in his role as an MP and, successively, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012, then Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014.
…during the two years the couple were in residence at Hillsborough Castle, the historic 18th-century property which serves as the official home of the Secretary of State, she made her mark with improvements to the house and garden
…Rose Emily Ridley was born in Northumberland on August 13 1956, the second of four children of Matthew White Ridley, who would succeed his father as the 4th Viscount Ridley in 1964, and Lady Anne, née Lumley, daughter of the 11th Earl of Scarbrough. Rose’s paternal grandmother, Ursula, was the daughter of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
…The family lived in a house on the family’s Blagdon Estate, near Seaton Burn, before moving into the main house when Rose was eight or nine.
…In 1980 she had married Owen Paterson, a fellow history student who had been one of many admirers at Cambridge.
…Earlier this year she had contracted Covid-19 – possibly at the Cheltenham Festival. In a statement on June 24, her husband reported that she had been found dead at the family home.
…She is survived by her husband and by their two sons and daughter, and by a granddaughter.
Rose Paterson, born August 13 1956, death announced June 24 2020
TIMES
EXTRACT
Gracious political consort and reforming chairman of Aintree who oversaw record attendance and viewing figures for the Grand National
..Recently she was understood to have been equally devastated when her husband’s probity was questioned over the government’s decision to award unopposed the contract to produce a Covid-19 testing kit to Randox Health, a company for which he was a consultant.
Rose Emily Ridley was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1956 to Matthew White Ridley, the fourth Viscount Ridley, Lord Steward of the Household from 1989 to 2001, and his wife, Anne (née Lumley). Her younger brother Matt became an author and Times columnist. Her great-grandfather was the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
…While studying history at New Hall, Cambridge, she met Owen Paterson, who was reading history at Corpus Christi College. Their social set included Oliver Letwin and Charles Moore, who recalled all the boys were in love with her. Partly on account of his fine and dashing horsemanship, Paterson won her heart. They married in 1980.
Her husband survives her with their two sons and a daughter: Felix is a lawyer, Ned is global marketing manager for Pernod Ricard and Evie is an asset manager who has competed for Great Britain at eventing and won the British Junior Eventing Championship in 2008. Rose once admitted that watching DVDs of her daughter’s eventing triumphs was her “guilty pleasure”.
…In 1997 her husband replaced the retiring John Biffen as the Conservative candidate for North Shropshire and won the seat. The couple settled in a grade II listed house near the Welsh border. They kept a stable of eventers and hunters along with Cochin chickens roaming free and Welsh mountain sheep.
…An avid reader, Paterson was a private and reserved woman, even among friends and family. For many years, a busy life of achievement helped to keep her demons at bay. She died not far from the horses she loved.
Rose Paterson, chairman of Aintree racecourse, was born on August 13, 1956. She was found dead in woodland on June 24, 2020, aged 63
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/rose-paterson-obituary-58tch3vm9