Rose Emily Paterson (; 13 August 1956 – 24 June 2020) was a British business executive, fundraiser, and the chairman of Aintree Racecourse.
Early life
Rose Emily Paterson was born on 13 August 1956 in Northumberland. She was the daughter of The 4th Viscount Ridley and Lady Anne Lumley (the daughter of The 11th Earl of Scarbrough). Her great-grandfather was Sir Edwin Lutyens, through his daughter Ursula, and her uncle was Nicholas Ridley, a prominent Conservative cabinet minister in the Thatcher government. Her brother, Matt Ridley, is the 5th Viscount Ridley, and she had two other siblings.
They lived near Seaton Burn at the family-owned Blagdon Estate. She was educated at Westfield School in Newcastle upon Tyne and West Heath Girls' School in Sevenoaks. As a schoolgirl, she ran a book (acted as a bookmaker) on horse racing, and said "I made quite a killing". After school she took a gap year, and then read history at New Hall, Cambridge, and attended an art history course in Venice.
Career
She worked for Sotheby's auction house, provided advice and valuations on artworks. Following her husband's election as an MP in 1997, she was her husband's Shropshire-based personal assistant and office manager.
