With a £2 million country estate at her disposal, Judith Maurer could have lived a life of luxury.

The sprawling complex of farmland and cottages would have been an ideal place to indulge her love of the countryside and horses.

But for Mrs Maurer, there was no place like home and she refused to move from the Sussex house where she was born.

Now, after her death, the estate in Wales left to her by her father has been handed over to the National Trust for the nation to enjoy.

Mrs Maurer, who died in April this year aged 74 of a blood clot on the brain, lived in the same house in College Lane, Hurstpierpoint, until ill health forced her into a nursing home two years ago.

Although the Southwood Estate in Newgale, Pembrokshire, had been in her family since 1870, her roots were firmly embedded in the Sussex village.

Lifelong friend Pamela Gasson, 69, of Clayton Hill, Hassocks, said Mrs Maurer never had any intention of leaving her four-bedroom home, which has recently been sold for £550,000.

Mrs Gasson said: "She never wanted to go to live in Wales. She was born in that house and she loved it.

"Hurstpierpoint was her home. She has left a lot of memories with people round here and she will be missed in the area as she was a well-known character.

"She was a good friend, a very loyal person and I lost a lifelong companion."

Mrs Maurer, who spent the last year of her life in Downlands Park Nursing Home, Haywards Heath, was still fond of her family estate, which was managed by agents.

Rather than see the farmland broken up and sold off in pieces, she left it to the National Trust in her will.

Mrs Gasson said: "She was very proud of the family name and was also proud of the estate.

"The tenants on the land all sent a wreath to her funeral and she used to take care of them. She just didn't want to see the estate split up."

Mrs Maurer, a Catholic who was educated at a convent in Brighton, was married to Frenchman Jean Pierre for eight years in the Fifties.

She did not have any children, having given birth to a stillborn baby while still with her husband.

Her love of the outdoor life led to a keen interest in hunting and she rode with the South Down Hunt.

Mrs Gasson said: "She loved the country and we had a common love of horses. We met because her father had a horse at the same stables as me.

"She was also a keen tennis player and used to play at the Weald Tennis Club in Hassocks.

"We also used to go out a lot and she loved her dancing. If there was music, we would dance."

Proceeds of the sale of the house in Hurstpierpoint will go to Mrs Maurer's family on her father's side.

No one from the National Trust was available for comment.