Helen Alexandra Briscoe Roche (née Gully, formerly Frewen; born 8 June 1934), styled as The Honourable Lady Roche, is a British politician and former magistrate. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as a parish councillor and serves as the president of the

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

Conservatives. Lady Roche served on the

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

bench as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

for forty years. She is an honorary patron of the

Queen Charlotte's Ball The Queen Charlotte's Ball is an annual British debutante ball. The ball was founded in 1780 by George III as a birthday celebration in honour of his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, for whom the ball is named. The Queen Charlotte's Ball ...

and served on the ethics committee for St Mary's Hospital in Paddington,

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is district general hospital and teaching hospital located in Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approxim ...

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. The hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminster Hospital. It is operated by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS ...

, and

Cromwell Hospital The Cromwell Hospital is a private sector hospital located in the South Kensington area of London. It is operated by international healthcare company Bupa. History The hospital, which was designed by Holder Mathias, was established by Bank of ...

. She was created a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

during the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for voluntary services.

Early life and family

Lady Roche was born

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Helen Alexandra Briscoe Gully on 8 June 1934 to

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

officer Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Sutton Evelyn Gully, 3rd Viscount Selby and his wife, Veronica Catherine George. Through her paternal grandmother, Dorothy Evelyn Grey, she is a great-granddaughter of

Sir William Grey Sir William Grey (1818 – 15 May 1878) was an English administrator who worked with the East India Company in India and served as lieutenant-governor of Bengal from 1867 when he succeeded Sir Cecil Beadon and later as governor of Jamaica. Biog ...

, who served as

Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hooghly district, Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, Governors and presidents were appointed to look after co ...

and as

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

, and is a descendant of the

House of Grey The Grey family () is an English family, descending from the Anglo-Norman de Greye family. The patriarch of the family was Anchetil de Greye, a Norman chevalier and vassal of William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, one of the few proven com ...

. She is also a descendant of

William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, King's Counsel, KC (29 August 18356 November 1909) was a British lawyer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Com ...

, who served as

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

prior to his elevation to the peerage. She is a relative of three British Prime Ministers, Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon; and, by marriage,

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

; and Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel.

Adult life

In September 2019, Lady Roche and her second husband hosted

Lancaster House Lancaster House (originally known as York House and then Stafford House) is a mansion on The Mall, London, The Mall in the St James's district in the West End of London. Adjacent to The Green Park, it is next to Clarence House and St James ...

. She is an honorary patron of the ball, and of the non-profit organization The London Season, founded by Jennie Hallam-Peel. Lady Roche served as a

on the

Bench for forty years and is the president of the

branch of the Conservative Party. She has served as a volunteer with the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, served as a school governor, served on her local parish council, and served on the ethics committee for St Mary's Hospital in Paddington,

, and

. She was made a

for voluntary services during the

Marriages and issue

Alexandra Gully first married Roger d'Hauteville Moreton Frewen di Tuttavilla, the son of Hugh Moreton Frewen and ''Donna'' Maria Elena Nunziante di Mignano, a daughter of ''Don'' Mariano Nunziante, Duca di Mignano, in 1952. Her husband was the grandson of the businessman

Moreton Frewen Moreton Frewen (8 May 1853 – 2 September 1924), nicknamed "Mortal Ruin", was a British entrepreneur and writer on monetary reform, who served briefly as a Member of Parliament (MP). Early life Frewen was born on 8 May 1853 at Brickwall Ho ...

and a nephew of the artist

Clare Sheridan Clare Consuelo Sheridan (née Frewen; 9 September 1885 – 31 May 1970) was an English sculptor, journalist and writer, known primarily for creating busts for famous sitters and keeping travel diaries. She was a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill ...

. During this marriage, she had five children; *Jonathan Briscoe Moreton Frewen di Tuttavilla (born 4 November 1953) *Selina Veronica Clara Frewen di Tuttavilla (born 3 May 1955, died 11 July 1972) *Robert Edward Jerome Frewen (born 10 May 1957) *Charles Grey Justin Frewen (born 13 February 1959) *Emma Catherine Gully Frewen (born 18 August 1964) She and Frewen di Tuttavilla divorced in 1966. She married, secondly, Sir David O'Grady Roche, 5th Baronet on 24 June 1971. Her second husband, the son of Sir Standish O'Grady Roche, 4th Baronet, was a deputy chairman of the

Standing Council of the Baronetage The Standing Council of the Baronetage is a United Kingdom organisation which deals with the affairs of baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a ...

. She and her second husband had three children: *Standish George O'Grady Roche (born 28 April 1972, died 17 July 1974) *David Alexander O'Grady Roche (born 28 January 1976) *Cecilia Evelyn Jonnë Roche (born 23 May 1979) She and Sir David live at Bridge House in

Starbotton Starbotton is a village of around 60 houses in Wharfedale, Upper Wharfedale in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, by the River Wharfe. The resident population is around 48 and many villa ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

and at Lancaster Mews, London W2 3QE.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Alexandra Living people 1934 births 20th-century British philanthropists 20th-century English women politicians 20th-century British women philanthropists 21st-century women philanthropists 21st-century English women politicians Conservative Party (UK) councillors Daughters of viscounts English justices of the peace Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Maidenhead Wives of baronets Women councillors in England

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...