Emma Ingilby

Emma Clare Roebuck Ingilby, Lady Ingilby (née; Thompson) is a British aristocrat and businesswoman. Upon her marriage to Sir Thomas Ingilby in 1984, she became the châtelaine of Ripley Castle, the seat of the Ingilby baronets. She co-owns and co-runs the estate alongside her husband, and opened the castle up to the public in the late 1980s. she and her husband are selling the castle and estate in order to retire.

Early life Lady Ingilby is the daughter of Major Richard A. Thompson, a military officer, and Pamela Margaret Baker, a school teacher. Her parents met in Hong Kong, where her father was serving in the British Armed Forces, shortly after World War II. She is a descendant of John Spicer, a Protestant martyr who was burnt at the stake in 1556 during the Marian persecutions and was listed in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. The castle, the Ingilby family home for over 700 years, is in Ripley, North Yorkshire, near Harrogate. Shortly after they married, she and Sir Thomas decided to commercialise Ripley. Ingilby manages the castle while her husband focuses on the property. They travel broadly to promote the castle, including locations as far as Australia. They gave commercial leases to an art gallery, a pub, cafés, a gin-tasting room, a small clothing boutique, and a florist in Ripley. or waitstaff. She also opened up the east wing of the castle as a conference and banqueting facility.

Lady Ingilby grows coffee, palms, bananas, oranges, cacti, and orchids in Ripley's gardens. and she plans to retire. The price of the castle and estate has been set at £21 million.

Personal life She met Sir Thomas Colvin William Ingilby, 6th Baronet of Ripley Castle, at a dinner party when she was 18 years old. They married on 25 December 1984.