Dame Ann Marian Ebsworth, DBE (19 May 1937 – 4 April 2002) was an English barrister and judge. In 1992, she became the sixth female High Court judge, and the first to be assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

Biography

Ebsworth's father, Arthur Ebsworth, was an officer in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

and her early life was spent in various barracks. She was educated at Notre Dame Convent,

Worth, West Sussex Worth is either a civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, or a distinct but historically related village in Crawley. Civil parish Worth is a civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, a county in southeast England. I ...

, and at Portsmouth High School. She read history at

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, University of London, where she was a formidable debater, captaining teams in intercollegiate contests. She was called to the Bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1962, where she was later a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

. She practised mainly in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, concentrating on criminal work. She became head of her chambers, but did not become a QC. She became a Recorder in the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wale ...

in 1978, and a circuit judge in 1983. She served on the

Mental Health Review Tribunal A mental health tribunal is a specialist tribunal (hearing) empowered by law to adjudicate disputes about mental health treatment and detention, primarily by conducting independent reviews of patients diagnosed with mental disorders who are det ...

from 1975 to 1983, and on the

Parole Board A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdiction ...

from 1989 to 1992. She was appointed a High Court judge in 1992, becoming the sixth female High Court judge after

Elizabeth Lane Dame Elizabeth Kathleen Lane, DBE (née Coulborn; 9 August 1905 – 17 June 1988) was an English barrister and judge. She was the first woman appointed as a judge in the County Court, the first female High Court judge in England, and the fir ...

Rose Heilbron Dame Rose Heilbron DBE, QC (19 August 1914 – 8 December 2005) was a British barrister who served as a High Court judge. Her career included many "firsts" for a woman – she was the first woman to achieve a first class honours degree in l ...

Margaret Booth Margaret Booth (January 16, 1898 – October 28, 2002) was an American film editor. Early life and career Born in Los Angeles, she started her Hollywood career as a "patcher", editing films by D. W. Griffith, around 1915. Her brother was actor ...

Elizabeth Butler-Sloss Ann Elizabeth Oldfield Butler-Sloss, Baroness Butler-Sloss, GBE, PC (''née'' Havers; born 10 August 1933), is a retired English judge. She was the first female Lord Justice of Appeal and was the highest-ranking female judge in the United King ...

and

Joyanne Bracewell Dame Joyanne Winifred Bracewell DBE QC FRSA (5 July 1934 – 9 January 2007) was the most senior judge of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice at the time of her death, after the President of the Family Division. Personal life ...

. All previous female High Court judges were appointed to the

Family Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

. Ebsworth was the first to be assigned to the

. On 20 May 1992, the day after her 55th birthday, Ebsworth was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(DBE). In later life, she was involved in teaching advocacy at

, and for the

South Eastern Circuit The Circuit Court ( ga, An Chúirt Chuarda) of Ireland is an intermediate level court of local and limited jurisdiction which hears both civil and criminal matters. On the criminal side the Circuit Court hears criminal matters tried on indictmen ...

, particularly at an annual course at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, t ...

Death

She retired in 2001. She died of peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare form of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

. She died on 4 April 2002, aged 64, unmarried. Her funeral service was held at

on 10 April 2002.

Legacy

* She left £1 million to the Institute of Child Health to fund research under the auspices of the Ann Ebsworth Centre for Childhood Epilepsy, at

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospi ...

.Press Office Epilepsy chair
ich.ucl.ac.uk; accessed 17 October 2014. * The Dame Ann Ebsworth Memorial Lectures are held annually at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in her memory.

References

External links

Obituary
''The Guardian'', 12 April 2002

''The Daily Telegraph'', 9 April 2002
Dame Ann Ebsworth Second Memorial Lecture

''London Gazette'' notice of damehood
20 May 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ebsworth, Ann 1937 births 2002 deaths Alumni of the University of London English barristers English philanthropists English women judges 20th-century English women lawyers Deaths from cancer in England Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from mesothelioma Members of Gray's Inn Lawyers from Portsmouth Place of birth missing Place of death missing Queen's Bench Division judges Lawyers from Liverpool People educated at Portsmouth High School (Southsea) 20th-century British philanthropists 20th-century British women lawyers 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English women 20th-century British women judges