We are not told whether Hilda was able as time went on to build a more stately church in place of the rough wooden one which she at first put up, but it seems most likely, considering the fame of her abbey, that she must have done so. She probably was friendly with Benedict Biscop, the Abbot of Wearmouth, which was also in the north of England. Benedict Biscop had made many journeys to France and Italy, and he first brought to England glass windows and beautiful vestments for his church, as well as skilled masons and glass workers from France, who taught their craft to the Northumbrians. We cannot doubt that Hilda with her energy and her wisdom got some of these men to come and teach her people also how to put up beautiful buildings; perhaps Benedict Biscop may have given her some of the treasures, vestments, pictures, or vessels for the church services which he had brought back with him. The fame and importance of the Abbey of Whitby is shown by the fact that it was chosen as the spot in which to hold a great Council of the Church in 664, when many bishops met with King Oswy to settle matters of great importance for the whole Church in England. Hilda had to care for the entertainment of this great gathering and to take part in their discussions. They had met to decide whether in certain matters the customs of the Church of Rome or the customs of the Church in Northumbria should be followed. Hilda was in favour of the customs of Northumbria, but when King Oswy decided that it would be better to do as the rest of the Church did, she was wise enough to give in to his decision, seeing that these were matters which concerned only the order and not the teaching of the Church. [Illustration: THE COMPLETION OF THE ARK. From the Cædmon MS., circa A.D. 1000, in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. ] We know that Hilda founded at least one other convent herself, and several others were founded in different parts of England in imitation of the great Abbey of Whitby. For many years she ruled her convent with wisdom and diligence. At the end of her life she was called to bear the trial of a long illness. For six years she lay ill, but during all that time whenever possible, she would still teach those under her rule. She bade them serve God dutifully when they were in perfect health, and always return thanks to Him even when in trouble or suffering. How to do this she showed by her own example, for all through her long sickness she never failed to return thanks to God. When at last she felt death drawing near, she gathered all the inmates of her convent around her, and having bidden them to live in peace with one another and with all others, she joyfully welcomed death who came to take her from her sufferings to new life. She died in 680 at the age of sixty-six. Ælflæd, the daughter of King Oswy, who as an infant had been confided to Hilda’s care, succeeded her as abbess. Hilda was honoured as a saint by the Church after her death.