Matilda
was a generous benefactor of Roche. In her will
of 1446 she left one white vestment to the community so that each
week for seven years a monk would pray for her soul; he was to receive
one penny a day for his work. Matilda also left precise instructions
stipulating how and where she should be buried in the abbey church,
and how her soul should be provided for thereafter. The monks, in
return, received payment, gifts and presumably secured the goodwill
and future benefaction of her successors at nearby Conisbrough Castle
(right).