A wealthy widow of an oil magnate with connections to Colchester has left more than £5.5 million to charities and her friends.
Margaret Leonard died in Brighton in the spring just after her 95th birthday and has left the proceeds of the sale of Horkesley Hall, at Vinesse Road, Little Horkesley, to various charities, including the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Mrs Leonard left £3,000 to Richard Eddis, who lives at Horkesley Hall, to thank him for his care of the estate.
A spokeswoman from the RNLI said the charity estimated it could receive about £1 million from the sale of the estate, which will be used to buy a lifeboat to be named after Mrs Leonard's late husband Julian.
Other charities which will benefit from the sale of the estate are Age Concern, the Salvation Army, National Society for Prevention for Cruelty to Children, the RSPCA and a church in Brighton.
Mrs Leonard moved to Brighton in 1981 where neighbours described her as someone who liked the good things in life.
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