Career
She was awarded an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1991 for her work in design and an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in 1998. Priestman qualified as an interior designer. She subsequently became General Manager in Architecture and Design for the British Airport Authority and then Director of Architecture, Design and Environment for British Rail from 1986 to 1991.
She spent 18 years, until 2010, as chair of Open City (the organisation behind Open House).
She also became an Enabler, in 2001, for the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).
