Lady Barbirolli - the oboeist Evelyn Rothwell - has died at the age of 97.

She was the widow of the conductor Sir John Barbirolli, who died in 1970.

She was born in Wallingford, and Rothwell Close in the town is named after the family.

Her father was a tea dealer in London and her mother was a descendant of the author Charles Reade, who wrote the 1861 historical novel The Cloister And The Hearth.

Evelyn Rothwell won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music and the composer Benjamin Britten was one of her fellow students. It was there that she studied the oboe, with piano as her second instrument - she also played the cello and timpani.

She first met her future husband when he appointed her second oboe for the Royal Opera House touring company in 1931.

She had a long and distinguished career and made many recordings.

When she and Sir John visited relations in Castle Street, in Wallingford, he was a familiar figure in the town in his trademark huge black hat and black cloak.