She was the wife of William, earl of Warwick (died 1184) and, in 1174 became a co-heir of her father's large Yorkshire barony with her younger sister Agnes.

Both women were very attractive marriage prospects and there were complex negotiations between King Henry II, their potential husbands and the ladies themselves as to their fate.

Matilda's marriage went to Earl William of Warwick from which she acquired only a modest dower, the manor of East Knoyle in Wiltshire.

There are several charters which make Yorkshire grants in her husband's lifetime, notably her endowment before 1181 of her father's poverty-stricken abbey of Sawley in Craven with lands of the former hospital of Tadcaster.

Matilda adroitly negotiated a large fine of 700 marks with King Henry II so that she kept control of her inheritance and would not be remarried.