Dame Frances Silvia Patterson, (29 November 1954 – 20 December 2016), styled The Hon. Mrs Justice Patterson, was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales. Born in County Durham, Patterson was educated at The Queen's School, Chester and the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

. Patterson was called to the bar at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1977. Following a period as a Law Commissioner she was appointed to be a judge of the

High Court of Justice 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 (Englan ...

(Queen's Bench Division) on 1 October 2013. Patterson was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 18 February 2014. She died after a short illness on 20 December 2016, aged 62. Patterson was survived by her husband, Dr Graham Nicholson, and their three sons, Oliver, Leo and Simon.

References

1954 births 2016 deaths People educated at The Queen's School, Chester Alumni of the University of Leicester Members of the Middle Temple Queen's Bench Division judges English women judges Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-law-bio-stub