Hannah Hauxwell's relatives share their memories and family photos

Hannah's second cousins Marjorie, Keith, Rosemary and Barbara all attended the service at Barnard Castle Methodist Church.

Keith, Marjorie and their other sister Eunice's grandfather was the brother of Hannah's grandmother.

Keith's wife Jean Bayles, who now lives in Worcestershire, has reminisced about the time when Hannah was recognised by a group of American tourists when they took her to visit Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.

"My husband first went to Hannah's farm at the age of six, and she came to theirs for Bonfire Night. Both Hannah's mother Lydia and her uncle Tommy were alive then.

"My husband's father was a great violinist and Hannah loved going there. She told me that when we went to visit her in West Auckland.

"Keith has two sisters living in Mickleton and there are two cousins that live up there who were also at the funeral.

"She came down to Pershore, where we live, to attend two family weddings and was made very welcome by all who met her. At my daughter Suzanne's wedding, Hannah refused to come out of Pershore Abbey, as she said she would not take the limelight away as she didn't realise anyone would know her down here.

"An even bigger surprise was that when we took and my mother-in-law to Stratford-upon-Avon and she was recognised by a car full of Americans! We were surprised that they would think it normal for Hannah to be so far away from home, but I suppose we are a very small island to them.

"When we last visited Hannah she asked about all the people she had met down here - my family members. We would have been going to see her in the spring; my husband Keith has had a lot of ill health in the last two years. Hannah said with tears in her eyes that she hoped he would be better soon. She was a lovely lady and had brilliant sense of humour.

"As she is buried near to my in-laws, I will be able to put flowers on her grave when I go to theirs"

Since the funeral, Jean has also made contact with Hannah's first cousins, who are her mother's nieces and nephews, and her uncle Tommy's grandchild.

Hannah Hauxwell, who passed away aged 91, became famous across the world when she featured in a Yorkshire Television documentary, Too Long a Winter, in 1973. She was single-handedly farming a smallholding in Baldersdale, which was then in the North Riding; it has since become part of County Durham.

She was living without basic comforts such as running water and electricity, and could often go more than a week without seeing another person. She decided to retire in 1988, when the work became too much for her, and moved to a cottage nearby. She spent her later years in a nursing home in West Auckland. Her farm has since been converted into a modern family home.

Obituary: Hannah Hauxwell Gallery: Hannah Hauxwell's funeral