 Sophia Brittan died in August 1877. Whilst the Rollestons had carried the Brittan family financially over the last decade, their contributions went practically unrecognised. Mary Rolleston inherited £ 400 and the piano, her oldest brother received an annual annuity of £ 20, and Frank Brittan was given the farm, the house and all its contents. William Rolleston was "shocked, hurt and astonished" by the unfairness of this distribution. Contact between the Rollestons and Frank Brittan all but ceased. Much later in life, Mary Rolleston would see her brother briefly once a year on New Year's Day at his home, and that was all the contact that they had.
