Philip John Miles

1st Mar 1774 - 24th Mar 1845

Claimant or beneficiary

Biography

Son of William Miles (1728-1805) and Ann Barrow or Berrow, cousin of William Miles (1791-1844) and father of Philip William Skynner Miles (q.v.). Major owner and mortgagee of 'slave-property' in Jamaica, and one of the very few millionaires dying in Britain before 1850.

  1. Married (1) Maria Whetham (?-22 June 1811) daughter of Very Rev. Arthur Whetham 1795; (2) Clarissa Peach (?-22 June 1868) (daughter of Samuel Peach Peach and Clarissa Partridge, and grand-daughter of Henry Cruger) 11/05/1813. Political dynasty included Philip John Miles's son by first marriage: Sir William Miles 1st bart., (13 May 1797-17 Jun 1878) MP for Chippenham 1818-20; New Romney 1830-32; East Somerset 1834-65); Sir William's son Sir Philip John William Miles 2nd bart. (1825-1888, Conservative MP for East Somerset 1878-1885). [For the latter's will, leaving personal estate of £12,125 8s 0d, proved 1888, see National Probate Calendar, 1888.] By his 2nd marriage, Philip William Skynner Miles (1816-1881), MP for Bristol 24 July 24 1837-7 July 1852. [Succeeded his father] [See separate entry for P. W. S. Miles]. His children were: With (1): Sarah Agatha; Elizabeth; Millicent; Agatha; Sir William, 1st Bt. (13 May 1797-17 Jun 1878). With (2): Philip William Skynner (1816-1881); Clara Philippa; J. W. (?-1878); George Frederick William; Ellen; Colonel Charles William; Sybilla Mary (?-24 Dec 1889); Marianne Adelaide; Robert Henry William (1818-1883); Edward Peach William (1829-1881).

  2. Described by Rubinstein as a banker (Miles & Co.) 'his father was a planter and then a merchant in Bristol.  William Miles (given by Rubinstein as 1728-28/03/1803) 'went to Jamaica as a young man and acquired a fortune as a merchant. He was then a leading merchant in Bristol and a landowner in Somerset.' P.J. Miles' daughter Marianne married in 1860 Sir Patrick MacDougall (1814-94)'.  P.J. Miles 'was a super-rich Bristol merchant and then (chiefly) a banker in Bristol who remains almost totally unknown'. Left 'Upper Value' (i.e., over £1 million).  William Miles (1791-13/11/1844 at Aix-la-Chapelle), of Manilla Hall Clifton, son of Philip Miles (1735-1823 a partner in Miles' Bank in Bristol) and Elizabeth Peachey, married 1823 Frances Jebb daughter of Joshua Jebb of Walton Hall Derbyshire (dsp), left £160,000: Rubinstein shows him as shipowner and West India merchant and as identified with the firm of 'William Miles and Thomas Kingston' attributed to the 1826 Bristol Directory.

  3. Rubinstein has Eliza (or Elizabeth) Miles (probably 1779-02/02/1862) as presumably the last surviving child of Philip Miles (the cousin of Philip John Miles), leaving £140,000.  

  4. Philip John Miles bought Abbots Leigh in 1811 and on the estate built Leigh Court between 1814 and 1818.

  5. His son Edward Peach William Miles married Olivia Cave, granddaughter of John Cave (q.v.). Edward became a partner in the firm Kington, Miles and Co, which did extensive trade in New Zealand from the 1850s-90s.This represented a diversification from the firm's earlier interest in the Caribbean but was a direct continuation of its colonial trading activities. After Thomas Kington's death, Edward became senior partner of the firm (renamed Miles & Co) and was joined by Fullbert Archer (husband of Mary Elizabeth Cave) as partner. Edward Peach William Miles also held several prominent directorships across the imperial world, including: the New Zealand Shipping Company, The Union Bank of Australia, The London and Westminster Bank, The Panama, New Zealand and Australian Royal Mail Company and remained a member of the Society of Merchant Venturers in Bristol.

  6. The portrait of Miles is by John Young. Mezzotint, 1822, 6 7/8 in. x 5 in. (174 mm x 128 mm). National Portrait Gallery: NPG D3657.

  7. In addition to the estates listed below, Philip John Miles and Thomas Kington appear to have held a mortgage of £35,000 over the estates of William Shand (q.v.).


Sources

  1. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage 107th edition (2003) Vol. 2 p. 2689.

  2. William D. Rubinstein, Who were the rich? A biographical dictionary of British wealth-holders Volume Two 1840-1859 (MS) references 1845/17 and 1845/18. Life dates from this source. R. H. Vetch, ‘MacDougall, Sir Patrick Leonard (1819–1894)’, rev. Roger T. Stearn, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004); online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17470, accessed 12 /08/2012].

  3. William D. Rubinstein, Who were the rich? A biographical dictionary of British wealth-holders Volume Two 1840-1859 MS, reference 1862/34.

  4. William Evans, Abbots Leigh: a Village History (Bristol, Abbots Leigh Civic Society, 2002).

  5. See various reports throughout New Zealand press, available through Papers Past: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast; Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 730, 5 November 1859, p. 1.

  6. Online at National Portrait Gallery website.

  7. Bristol Archives 40114/1 Description: Duplicate Mortgage in £35,000 + interest '1. William Shand, late of the island of Jamaica, but now in Arnhall, co. Kincardine, Scotland, esq., 2. Philip John Miles of Lee Court, par. Abbotts Lee, co. Somerset, and also of the city of Bristol, merchant. 3. P.J. Miles (above) and Thomas Kington of the city of Bristol, merchants and co-partners. Premises: a sugar plantation in par. Clarendon, Jamaica, called Kellits, about 3,000 acres; a coffee plantation in the same par., called The Burn; a pen in the same par. called Mammee Gulley, about 1,000 acres; a sugar plantation in the parish St. John, Jamaica, called Belmont, about 1,500 acres; and all the negroes and other slaves belonging to these premises (a schedule of whom is included). Attached : 1833 March 22 Affidavit sworn before the Lord Mayor of London by witness to the execution of the above Date: 1833 March 12.'

We are grateful to Elisabeth Frankish for her help compiling this entry.


Further Information

Absentee?
British/Irish
Spouse
(1) Maria Whetham (2) Clarissa Peach
Children
With (1): Sir William Miles (1797-1878) plus 4 daughters. With (2): Philip William Skynner (1816-1881), J. W. Miles, George Frederick William, Col. Charles William, Robert Henry William (1818-1883), Edward Peach William (1829-) plus 4 daughters
Will

Upper value (i.e. Above £1 million)

Wealth at death
£1,000,000
Occupation
Banker

Associated Claims (23)

£1,623 7s 0d
Awardee (Owner-in-fee)
£672 4s 2d
Awardee (Owner-in-fee)
£5,339 6s 4d
Claimants in List E or Chancery cases
£2,848 7s 3d
Awardee (Owner-in-fee)
£3,594 19s 4d
Awardee (Owner-in-fee)
£2,938 17s 4d
Awardee (Owner-in-fee)
£3,678 14s 7d
Unsuccessful claimant (consensual) (Mortgagee)
£4,180 7s 6d
Awardee (Mortgagee)
£2,542 4s 8d
Awardee (Owner-in-fee)
£3,187 15s 4d
Claimants in List E or Chancery cases
£3,424 3s 11d
Awardee (Owner-in-fee)
£1,346 1s 7d
Awardee
£2,781 5s 8d
Awardee
£1,202 10s 3d
Unsuccessful claimant (Mortgagee-in-possession)
£990 4s 11d
Claimants in List E or Chancery cases
£2,799 8s 1d
Claimants in List E or Chancery cases
£1,829 15s 5d
Claimants in List E or Chancery cases
£4,011 18s 9d
Claimants in List E or Chancery cases (Mortgagee)
£1,765 18s 10d
Claimants in List E or Chancery cases
£2,240 12s 4d
Awardee (Mortgagee)
£2,159 16s 7d
Awardee (Mortgagee)
£6,622 18s 7d
Awardee (Mortgagee)
£4,650 6s 0d
Awardee

Associated Estates (18)

The dates listed below have different categories as denoted by the letters in the brackets following each date. Here is a key to explain those letter codes:

  • SD - Association Start Date
  • SY - Association Start Year
  • EA - Earliest Known Association
  • ED - Association End Date
  • EY - Association End Year
  • LA - Latest Known Association
1810 [EA] - 1834 [LA] → Owner
1832 [EA] - 1839 [LA] → Joint owner
1817 [EA] - 1832 [LA] → Mortgagee-in-Possession
1817 [EA] - 1823 [LA] → Mortgagee-in-Possession
1829 [EA] - 1832 [LA] → Not known

No capacity was shown in 1829 and 1832, but Miles and Kington had been mortgagees-in-possession 1817-1823.

1830 [EA] - 1834 [LA] → Mortgage Holder
1810 [EA] - 1834 [LA] → Owner
1817 [EA] - 1823 [LA] → Mortgagee-in-Possession
1829 [EA] - 1832 [LA] → Not known

The capacity in which Philip John Miles was associated with the estate was not shown for 1829 and 1832 but he had earlier been mortgagee-in-possession with his partner Thomas Kington.

1834 [EA] - → Mortgage Holder
1817 [EA] - 1820 [LA] → Mortgagee-in-Possession
1829 [EA] - 1832 [LA] → Not known

The capacity in which Philip John Miles was connected with Johnston was not shown for 1829 and 1832, but he was previously mortgagee-in-possession in 1817-1820 and claimed as such in 1834/5 for this group of enslaved people, so almost certainly he was mortgagee-in-possession in 1829-32

1817 [EA] - 1823 [LA] → Mortgagee-in-Possession
1829 [EA] - 1832 [LA] → Not known

Capacity not shown but presumably either mortgagee-in-possession or owner.

1810 [EA] - 1834 [LA] → Owner
1810 [EA] - 1839 [LA] → Owner
1810 [EA] - 1839 [LA] → Owner
1810 [EA] - 1834 [LA] → Owner

Legacies Summary

Commercial (7)

Other partner
Oldham and Whittaker
Haberdasher  
 
Name partner
Miles, Claxton & Co.
Rope-Makers  
 
Other partner
Elton, Ames and Company
Gunpowder Manufacturing  
 
Other partner
 
Name partner
Elton, Miles and Wilcox
Glass Manufacturing  
 
Senior partner
Miles Bank
Banker  
 
Director
Banker  
 

Cultural (1)

Paintings
Collection of Old Masters, formed largely by Richard Hart Davies and bought by Philip John Miles in 1813, with subsequent additons by Miles, especially from the collection of Henry Hope.  Dispersed... 

Imperial (1)

Other
New Zealand 
notes →
Edward Peach William Miles was a partner in Miles & Co., along with his sister-in-law Mary Elizabeth Cave's husband Fulbert Archer. Miles & Co. had at one time been Miles, Cave & Co....

Physical (2)

Country house
Leigh Court [Built] 
description →
Externally Palladian style; internally, Greek Revival. The pictures are from the [current owner's...
notes →
Miles bought the Leigh Court Estate in 1811. According to Stephanie Barczewski, Philip John Miles 1814 demolished the extant house to build a Greek Revival mansion house designed by Thomas Hopper....
Country house
Kings Weston House [Purchased] 
description →
Kings Weston House now a privately owned Grade 1 listed Georgian Mansion House set in 28 acres of parkland. See also Country Life Magazine, 26 November...
notes →
Kings Weston House. Designed by Sir John Vanbrugh for Edward Southwell (1671-1730)  c.1710. 1832: when Edward Southwell, 21st Lord de Clifford, died without issue, the house...

Political (1)

MP
Conservative 
election →
Westbury Wiltshire
1820 - 1826
election →
Corfe Castle Dorset
1829 - 1832
election →
Bristol Somerset
1835 - 1837

Relationships (11)

Other relatives
Notes →
Elizabeth's niece Olivia Caroline Cave married Philip's son Edward Peach William Miles, 20/06/1854 in Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire. Ancestry.com, England & Wales Marriages 1837-2005...
Other relatives
Notes →
Michael Hinton Castle's third wife Mary Helen Gordon was the sister of Catherine Gordon who married Sir William Miles (1797-1878), son of Philip John...
Other relatives
Notes →
Philip John Miles's son Sir William Miles, 1st Bart., married Catherine Gordon, daughter of John Gordon and Catherine...
Brother-in-laws
Father → Son
Uncle → Nephew
Other relatives
Notes →
Philip John Miles's son Sir William Miles, 1st Bart., married Catherine Gordon, daughter of John Gordon and Catherine...
Father → Son
Grandfather → Grandson
Son → Father
Other relatives
Notes →
Philip John Miles married (as his second wife) Clarissa Peach, the great grand-daughter of Henry Cruger...

Addresses (5)

Kings Weston House, Kings Weston Lane, Bristol, Gloucestershire, South-west England, England
Leigh Court, Abbots Leigh, Somerset, South-west England, England
The Priory, Cardiganshire, Mid-Wales, Wales
Underdown, Ledbury, Herefordshire, West Midlands, England
Walton Castle, Clevedon, Somerset, South-west England, England