Tributes have poured in to Sheila Wickham, a keen supporter of the arts in Wiltshire, who died on August 3, aged 73.

Mrs Wickham, who lived with her husband George in Gastard, is a former senior school teacher and was a popular figure in the Corsham area.

Her sudden death left her colleagues at The Pound arts centre, where she volunteered every week, in shock. Martin Campbell, from The Pound, said: “She was a very active person.

“She was at The Pound a lot of the time and did a huge amount of work as a volunteer once a week in the office. She really was a part of the team.”

Mrs Wickham also volunteered as a co-ordinator for arts events in Gastard as part of the Rural Arts Touring Wiltshire programme, a scheme which brings the arts to small villages across the county.

Mr Campbell added: “She brought a huge amount of success to the many events that we have held in Gastard over the years and she is going to be sadly missed by a lot of people.

“I think it will only really sink in when people are at events and they think ‘Sheila would have come to something like this’.”

As well as her volunteer work at The Pound, Mrs Wickham also gave up her Fridays to help out in the library at the Corsham Court campus of Bath Spa University.

Professor Ron George, the campus co-ordinator, said: “She had various postgraduate qualifications to her name, including librarianship, and her skills were a valuable asset to us.

“She became an extraordinarily welcome addition to our group of volunteers.

“She had a strong discipline, which clearly stemmed from her career and her work with us as a librarian, but there was also a kindness about her which shone through.

“Sheila was also a very enthusiastic learner and was keen to use her skills to the benefit of others in society.”

Her work at Corsham Court had extended to cataloguing the Bath Holburne Museum library collection, which was being carried out on the museum’s behalf.

A keen pianist, she had formed a quartet with friends who used to meet regularly to practice their music.

She had also been taken piano lessons from Nicholas Keyworth, former artistic director at The Pound, and now chief examiner of music at Trinity College London, and hoped to sit piano exams later this year.

Mrs Wickham also regularly attended the Wiltshire Music Centre and the Theatre Royal in Bath.

Her funeral is due to take place on Tuesday at 1.45pm at the West Wilts Crematorium, Semington.