Heilbron, Rose (1914–2005)

English judge. Appointed recorder of Burnley in 1956, she became the first woman recorder in the UK. In 1974 she was made a judge of the High Court in the Family Division. She chaired the home secretary's advisory group on rape in 1975, and was presiding judge of the Northern Circuit 1979–82. She retired from the High Court in 1988.

Heilbron was educated at Liverpool University, and won a scholarship to Gray's Inn in 1936. Called to the Bar in 1939, she progressed quickly to become a QC (Queen's Counsel) in 1949. Her daughter Hilary (1949– ) is also a barrister.