Jennifer Ann Gretton, Baroness Gretton, (born 14 June 1943) is a former

Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Since 1703, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Leicestershire. Lord Lieutenants *Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset 1549–1551 *Francis Hastings ...

, serving for over 15 years between 2003 and 2018.

Life

She was born in St Ives,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, and married John Gretton, 3rd Baron Gretton. Since her husband's death in 1989, Lady Gretton has run the family's

Stapleford Park Stapleford Park is a Grade I listed country house in Stapleford, Leicestershire, Stapleford, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England, which is now used as a hotel. It was originally the seat of the Sherard and Tamblyn families, later the Ear ...

Estate, in Stapleford, Leicestershire. Gretton has two children: Sarah Margaret Gretton (born 1971) who is married with two children; and John Lysander Gretton, 4th Baron Gretton (born 1975) who is married with one son. She became a Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire in 2001, and was appointed

on 1 February 2003. She became a Dame of the Order of St John in 2004. The Gretton family also own the

Stapleford Miniature Railway Stapleford Miniature Railway is an historic steam locomotive-hauled gauge railway at Stapleford Park, Stapleford near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. Considered one of the finest examples of its type, the railway is now private but ...

. The 2nd Lord Gretton installed the Stapleford Miniature Railway at Stapleford Park in 1958 which operated until 1982. The railway was mothballed when the park closed, but during the 1990s the FSMR friends supporting group was formed and the railway restored under the stewardship of Lady Gretton who is now president of the FSMR. Gretton became President of LOROS (a charity providing

hospice care Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

in Leicestershire) in 1999 with the railway opening twice yearly since 1995 in support of the hospice. She is also President of the Melton Mowbray and District Model Engineering Society and President of the Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland). She has been a Member of the Committee of Somerby Parochial Church Council since 1991, Church Warden of All Saints Church Somerby 1992-1995, and has been a member of the

Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 192 ...

Council since 2003. She retired as the

in 2018 after 15 years in the role and was succeeded by

Mike Kapur Mike Kapur, (born 12 December 1962) is the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. He succeeded Jennifer Gretton, Baroness Gretton in the role on 14 June 2018. Career Kapur is the Founder and Director of Signum Corporate Communications, a Leiceste ...

, Chairman of the

National Space Centre The National Space Centre is a museum and educational resource covering the fields of space science and astronomy, along with a space research programme in partnership with the University of Leicester. It is located on the north side of the city ...

which is in Leicestershire.

Honours

In 2008, she was awarded honorary Doctor of Laws at 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 ...

. In 2012, she was awarded the degree Honorary Doctor of Letters by

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 in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

. Gretton was appointed

Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(DCVO) in the 2017 Birthday Honours.

References

External links

Lord Lieutenant details
leics.gov.uk
Lord Lieutenant's biographical details (PDF)
leics.gov.uk
Stapleford Park official website
thepeerage.com
Stapleford miniature railway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gretton, Jennifer Gretton, Baroness 1943 births Living people British baronesses Dames Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Dames of the Order of St John Deputy Lieutenants of Leicestershire Lord-Lieutenants of Leicestershire People from St Ives, Cornwall