A dedicated member of the Ledbury Naturalists left £1.7m in her will to the Cambridge college she attended as a young woman.
The large sum has surprised friends of Lucia Windsor, of Pound Close.
They have recalled a friendly but reserved lady who was never late for Ledbury Naturalists committee meetings and who like to carry out conservation work at Queenswood near Dymock.
Friends and fellow Ledbury Naturalist, Peter Garnett said: "You would not have believed she had that sort of money floating about. Perhaps she thought very little of it.
"She was a friendly person and I got on very well with her. I never got to really know the inner person, but I'll miss her. We all will.""
A graduate of Newnham College, Cam-bridge, Miss Windsor was a gifted mathematician who worked for the Civil Service.
She was described as adopting a frugal but not harsh lifestyle.
She attended Newnham College from 1939 to 1942 and her entire estate goes there, to benefit generations to come.
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