] What does it mean to be patroness of a village?
] Was every "lady" of an estate presumed the patroness of the village in that estate?
] What were her duties?

I assume this would be what we call today, being the "lady of the manor". It was/is a position where noblese oblige was particularly important, not to mention the legal aspect. I could write a whole essay on the subject, but here is a link to a article from the Telegraph newspaper which should give you a flavour. I would also recommend watching some of the TV series "To the Manor Born" if you can get a copy. Worng period, but these traditions/duties carry on...