ONE of Hannington's best-loved and most respected citizens has died.

Mary Hussey-Freke of Hannington Hall, who could trace her ancestry in the village back to the 17th century, was 85.

Her death comes just over seven months after she opened a new recreation area in the village, funded by her family charity.

Called Ambrose Walk after Mrs Hussey-Freke's husband, who died in 1986, its design is based on the village itself.

The couple bought the hall from the Fry confectionery family in 1957, and Mrs Hussey Freke never forgot the welcome they received from the people of Hannington.

Last August she said: "All the people in the village said how lovely it was to have us back. It was one of the best things we ever did."

Mrs Hussey-Freke was the head of the Thomas Freke and Lady Norton Charity, which supports community projects in Hanning- ton.

The charity dates from 1710, when Thomas Freke left £100 for the poor of the village. The money was invested in land in Stratton St Margaret, which was bought by the English China Clay Company some 260 years later for £2 million.

According to the trust's clerk, local historian and retired teacher Barry Compton, Mrs Hussey-Freke's death in the early hours of Saturday marked the end of an era.

He said: "The whole village will change. She was really one of the old aristocratic school who everybody looked up to.

"Her way of doing things did not necessarily match modern society's, but it matched the village. She was a lovely person."

Mrs Hussey-Freke and her late husband had no children, but it is understood that the hall will pass to another family member.

The hall was built in 1653 by brothers William and Raufe Freke.

It stayed in the family until 1923 when it was sold to Claude Fry of the confectionery firm.

The farm associated with the hall was bought by Mr Hussey-Freke in 1953, with the hall following four years later.

Details of the funeral have yet to be announced.