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Richard Milles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Portrait of Richard Milles by Pompeo Batoni[1]

Richard Milles (c. 1735 – 14 September 1820) was an English Tory politician, landowner and horticulturalist who sat in the British House of Commons from 1761 to 1780, representing the constituency of Canterbury.

Early life

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Milles was the son of Christopher Milles of Nackington, and his wife Mary Warner, daughter of Richard Warner of North Elmham Norfolk.[2] He was educated at Westminster School and at St John's College, Cambridge. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1753.[3] He was a country gentleman with large estates.[2] Before 1761, he went on the Grand Tour of Europe.[4]

Career

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He was noted as a botanist and planted an orchard at his garden at North Elmham.[4]

Milles was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Canterbury in 1761[5] and won that and two subsequent election by a comfortable majority, holding the seat to 1780, when he did not stand.[2][6]

Personal life

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Portrait of his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Milles, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1789, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Milles married on 9 October 1765, Mary Elizabeth Tanner, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Tanner, DD, Prebendary of Canterbury. Together, they had their only daughter in 1767

References

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  1. ^ Portrait of Richard Milles, National Gallery
  2. ^ a b c d J. Brooke, Lewis Namier The House of Commons 1754–1790, Volume 3
  3. ^ "Milles, Richard (FML753R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. ^ a b Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 1937, p501–07
  5. ^ Pages 99 to 102,Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
  6. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)
  7. ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art Hon Mrs Lewis Thomas Watson
  8. ^ Christies – Gainsborough Portrait of the Hon Mrs Watson
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Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Canterbury
1761–1780
With: Thomas Best 1761–1768
William Lynch 1768–1774
Sir William Mayne, Bt 1774–1780
Succeeded by