Bridget Katharine Cracroft-Eley CVO JP (29 October 1933 – 29 August 2008) was a British secretary, farmer and magistrate. Born in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, she was the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts and his wife Rhona Clifton-Brown, daughter of Edward Clifton-Brown. In 1995, she received an honorary doctorate from

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

and in 2003 from the

University of Lincoln The University of Lincoln is a public university, public research university in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the hea ...

. Cracroft-Eley was appointed

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

for 1989 and served as justice of the peace of that county. She was appointed the first female

Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire The Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire () is the British monarch's personal representative in the county of Lincolnshire. Historically, the lord-lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lord-lieutenant's responsibi ...

in 1995, an office she held until her death. In 1997, she became High Steward of

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

. On 31 October 1959, she married Robert Peel Charles Eley (1931-1996), son of Charles Ryves Maxwell Eley. They had two children, one son and one daughter. Cracroft-Eley became a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

(CVO) in the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

. She died in August of that year at her home in

Hackthorn Hackthorn is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, to the north of Lincoln. It is combined with Cold Hanworth to form the parish council of Hackthorn and Cold Hanworth. The population of the civil par ...

, aged 74, of a brain tumour.

References

1933 births 2008 deaths Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order High sheriffs of Lincolnshire Lord-lieutenants of Lincolnshire People associated with De Montfort University {{UK-law-bio-stub