Parker was a pioneer in many ways, firstly as a well-respected female architect in a predominantly male profession. Parker studied at the Architectural Association in London in the 1930s, just as Modernism was taking hold in the UK, with the influences of the Bauhaus and Le Corbusier very much to the fore. During this period women played a significant part in defining and developing this new design style in Britain in a way that had never happened before. Parker, along with other women architects such as Mary Crowley and Justin Blanco White, were amongst the most important innovators of the pre-World War II period. Parker worked extensively with Ernő Goldfinger, with whom she is known to have met many of the great international architects of the era, including Frank Lloyd Wright.

After the War, Parker was by now married and called Anne Edgerley. She also had five children when she moved to Suffolk from London in the 1960s. In Suffolk she and her husband, John, dedicated themselves to their life at Kelsale by meticulously converting the former agricultural buildings they owned into an amazing home and also establishing what became a well-known vineyard. Awards were received both for their home (the winner of a Suffolk Craftsmanship Award) and their wines (gold and silver medals at the International Wine Challenge).