Frank Miles
Encyclopedia
George Francis "Frank" Miles (22 April 1852 – 15 July 1891) was a London
artist who specialised in pastel
portraits of society ladies, also an architect and a keen plantsman
.
of the Church of St. Mary and All Angels, Bingham
, Nottinghamshire
, and his wife Mary Cleaver. He was the grandson of Philip John Miles (1773–1845) by his second marriage to Clarissa Peach (1790–1868). Philip John Miles was an English landowner, banker, merchant, politician and collector, who was elected MP for Bristol
from 1835 - 1837 having earlier been elected for Westbury
from 1820–1826 and Corfe Castle
from 1829 - 1832. Frank Miles was therefore brother of Charles Oswald Miles
, cousin of Philip Napier Miles
and half-cousin of Sir Philip Miles, 2nd Baronet
.
Today, Frank Miles is best known for being a friend (and many believe a lover) of Oscar Wilde
whom he met at Oxford in 1874 or 1875, where Miles had family connections to the colleges and friends, but was never an undergraduate after being schooled at home (rather than at Eton as his father and uncles were). Miles introduced Wilde to Lillie Langtry
, and to his friend and patron Lord Ronald Charles Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, who later became the model for the worldly Lord Henry Wotton in Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray
.
If rumours of this relationship being physical are true, then Miles must have been bisexual as he was well known for his interest in women as well, both "society ladies" with whom he associated through his family connections and the working class girls he often used for his models. In the year leading up to his final illness, Miles was engaged to be married to Miss Gratiana Lucy Hughes (known as Lucy), daughter of Alfred Hughes (later Sir Alfred Hughes, 10th Baronet
), of East Bergholt Lodge, Suffolk, but his incarceration led to this falling through. A letter of 1887 from Miles to the wife of the artist George Broughton reads
Miles commissioned Edward William Godwin
to build him a house at what was then No 1 (but later renumbered to 44) Tite Street
, Chelsea
and moved in from his previous residence off the Strand. Oscar Wilde had been living with him since leaving Oxford in 1878 but it is clear that Miles, two years older than Wilde, was by far the dominant partner. Wilde, although ambitious, had no money and few social connections, while Miles had both, with a generous allowance from his wealthy father and the royalties from his drawings, Miles was able to keep his friend in style. The Court Directory and the Post Office London Directory for 1881 list Miles as the occupant but do not mention Wilde. The 1881 Census names Miles as head of the household and describes Wilde as merely a "boarder". The house is on the market in 2011 for £15,500,000.
His paintings and drawings included Lillie Langtry
, Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick
(another mistress to King Edward VII), the Countess of Lonsdale, Sir George Sitwell and his wife Ida and Princess Victoria, Princess Maud
and Princess Louise
. His work can also be seen in the church at Bingham, Nottinghamshire
where he designed the stained glass windows; at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
where his 1875 portrait of Richard Daft
, the Club's captain, is kept and at Nottinghamshire City Museum and Gallery where his 1878 landscape of Cenarth Falls
is on display.
He imported many species of plant and cultivated new varieties.
, and he died in 1891 of what was diagnosed as 'general paralysis of the insane (4 years), exhaustion and pneumonia. After being depleted by paying his medical care at the asylum, on his death, the remaining possessions of a once-wealthy man with a large inheritance and a successful artistic career were found to be worth only £20 (approx £20,000 in 2008 terms). By comparison, his brother, Rev. Canon Charles Oswald Miles
, who administered his estate, left £3,600 13s 6d (£3million in 2008 terms) when he died in 1898 and his cousin, Sir Cecil Miles, 3rd Baronet, left £171,591 17s 4d (£145million in 2008 terms) in the same year. He was buried at Almondsbury
, near Bristol.
" (1978). Langtry became the first publicly acknowledged mistress of the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII between 1877-80. The Prince of Wales was an occasional guest and shooting companion of Frank's cousin, Sir Philip Miles. In an interview published in several newspapers (including the Brisbane Herald) in 1882, Langtry said,
, see Thomas Toughill
's 'The Ripper Code' (The History Press 2008). Given that at the time of the murders he was at the asylum at Brislington, over 120 miles (193.1 km) away from Whitechapel
and was suffering from a disease that would cause dementia, seizures and disfigurement, this would make it difficult for him to have escaped from the asylum, travelled unnoticed to London, committed his murders, travelled back and broken back in to the asylum undetected. He also does not match the physical descriptions of suspects, particularly concerning his height. Most descriptions of Jack the Ripper have him between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 7 inches, and most frequently described as "stout" whereas Miles was tall, of athletic build and keen on sport, particularly tennis.
An FBI profile of Jack the Ripper describes him as follows
This description is almost the exact opposite of a distinctively tall, well-dressed and handsome man from a well-connected, upper class family, brought up in a secure home and leading the life of a gentleman.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
artist who specialised in pastel
Pastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
portraits of society ladies, also an architect and a keen plantsman
Plantsman
A plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener , nurseryman or nurserywoman. "Plantsman" can refer to a male or female person, though the terms plantswoman, or even plantsperson, are sometimes used....
.
Life and career
He was the son of the Rev. Robert Henry William Miles (1818–1883), rectorRector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the Church of St. Mary and All Angels, Bingham
Church of St. Mary and All Angels, Bingham
The Church of St. Mary and All Saints, Bingham is a parish church in the Church of England in Bingham, Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or historic interest.-History:The church is medieval. It was...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, and his wife Mary Cleaver. He was the grandson of Philip John Miles (1773–1845) by his second marriage to Clarissa Peach (1790–1868). Philip John Miles was an English landowner, banker, merchant, politician and collector, who was elected MP for Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
from 1835 - 1837 having earlier been elected for Westbury
Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Westbury was a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire from 1449 to 2010. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, and then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...
from 1820–1826 and Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle (UK Parliament constituency)
Corfe Castle was a parliamentary borough in Dorset, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1572 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
from 1829 - 1832. Frank Miles was therefore brother of Charles Oswald Miles
Christopher Oswald Miles
-Early life:Miles was educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Oxford where he took an MA in Classics in 1875. He also attended Cuddesdon College in their fourth term of 1873 and terms one to three of 1874 where he trained for the priesthood.-England:...
, cousin of Philip Napier Miles
Philip Napier Miles
Philip Napier Miles JP DLitt h.c. was a prominent and wealthy citizen of Bristol, UK, who left his mark on the city, especially on what are now its western suburbs, through his musical and organizational abilities and through good works of various kinds...
and half-cousin of Sir Philip Miles, 2nd Baronet
Sir Philip Miles, 2nd Baronet
Sir Philip John William Miles, 2nd Baronet was an English politician. Educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, he then served in the 17th Lancers. He was a sheriff of Bristol in 1853 and partner in the family's bank, Miles & Co from 1852 - 1854...
.
Today, Frank Miles is best known for being a friend (and many believe a lover) of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
whom he met at Oxford in 1874 or 1875, where Miles had family connections to the colleges and friends, but was never an undergraduate after being schooled at home (rather than at Eton as his father and uncles were). Miles introduced Wilde to Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
, and to his friend and patron Lord Ronald Charles Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, who later became the model for the worldly Lord Henry Wotton in Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
.
If rumours of this relationship being physical are true, then Miles must have been bisexual as he was well known for his interest in women as well, both "society ladies" with whom he associated through his family connections and the working class girls he often used for his models. In the year leading up to his final illness, Miles was engaged to be married to Miss Gratiana Lucy Hughes (known as Lucy), daughter of Alfred Hughes (later Sir Alfred Hughes, 10th Baronet
Hughes Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Hughes, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
), of East Bergholt Lodge, Suffolk, but his incarceration led to this falling through. A letter of 1887 from Miles to the wife of the artist George Broughton reads
"...As soon as I have given up my house for three years, I and my girl will find a cottage and live close to London... we think of the S.E. edge of Epping Forset... L and I expect we shall have many friends... we shall be near the best nursery gardens - and I spend half my life growing new rose plants I introduce and send to KewRoyal Botanic Gardens, KewThe Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
. ... soon a baronetcy, when an old man dies, will come to my future father in law."
Miles commissioned Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic "Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by The Stones of Venice, then moved on to provide designs in the "Anglo-Japanese taste" of the Aesthetic...
to build him a house at what was then No 1 (but later renumbered to 44) Tite Street
Tite Street
Tite Street is a street in Chelsea, London, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, England, just north of the River Thames. It was created in 1877, giving access to the Chelsea Embankment. In the late nineteenth century the street was a favoured and fashionable location for people of an...
, Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
and moved in from his previous residence off the Strand. Oscar Wilde had been living with him since leaving Oxford in 1878 but it is clear that Miles, two years older than Wilde, was by far the dominant partner. Wilde, although ambitious, had no money and few social connections, while Miles had both, with a generous allowance from his wealthy father and the royalties from his drawings, Miles was able to keep his friend in style. The Court Directory and the Post Office London Directory for 1881 list Miles as the occupant but do not mention Wilde. The 1881 Census names Miles as head of the household and describes Wilde as merely a "boarder". The house is on the market in 2011 for £15,500,000.
His paintings and drawings included Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
, Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick
Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick
Frances Evelyn "Daisy" Greville, Countess of Warwick was a society beauty, and mistress to King Edward VII.-Family:...
(another mistress to King Edward VII), the Countess of Lonsdale, Sir George Sitwell and his wife Ida and Princess Victoria, Princess Maud
Maud of Wales
Princess Maud of Wales was Queen of Norway as spouse of King Haakon VII. She was a member of the British Royal Family as the youngest daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark and granddaughter of Queen Victoria and also of Christian IX of Denmark. She was the younger sister of George V...
and Princess Louise
Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife
The Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife was the third child and the eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark...
. His work can also be seen in the church at Bingham, Nottinghamshire
Bingham, Nottinghamshire
Bingham is a market town in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England.-Geography:With a population of around 9,000 people it lies about nine miles east of Nottingham, a similar distance south-west of Newark-on-Trent and west of Grantham. It is situated where the A46 intersects the A52...
where he designed the stained glass windows; at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
where his 1875 portrait of Richard Daft
Richard Daft
Richard Daft was an English cricketer. He was one of the best batsmen of his day, the peak of his first-class career being the 1860s and early 1870s...
, the Club's captain, is kept and at Nottinghamshire City Museum and Gallery where his 1878 landscape of Cenarth Falls
Cenarth Falls
The Cenarth Falls is a cascade of waterfalls just upstream of the road bridge in the village of Cenarth in Ceredigion, bordering Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Wales....
is on display.
He imported many species of plant and cultivated new varieties.
Insanity
In 1887, Miles was committed to Brislington House, an asylum near BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, and he died in 1891 of what was diagnosed as 'general paralysis of the insane (4 years), exhaustion and pneumonia. After being depleted by paying his medical care at the asylum, on his death, the remaining possessions of a once-wealthy man with a large inheritance and a successful artistic career were found to be worth only £20 (approx £20,000 in 2008 terms). By comparison, his brother, Rev. Canon Charles Oswald Miles
Christopher Oswald Miles
-Early life:Miles was educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Oxford where he took an MA in Classics in 1875. He also attended Cuddesdon College in their fourth term of 1873 and terms one to three of 1874 where he trained for the priesthood.-England:...
, who administered his estate, left £3,600 13s 6d (£3million in 2008 terms) when he died in 1898 and his cousin, Sir Cecil Miles, 3rd Baronet, left £171,591 17s 4d (£145million in 2008 terms) in the same year. He was buried at Almondsbury
Almondsbury
Almondsbury is a large village near junction 16 of the M5 motorway, in South Gloucestershire, England.-Description:The village is split by a steep hill, part of the escarpment overlooking the Severn floodplain. At the bottom of the hill is Lower Almondsbury where a pub and hotel, The Bowl Inn, is...
, near Bristol.
Lillie Langtry
Frank Miles and his artistic inspiration Lillie Langtry are portrayed in the mini-series "LillieLillie
Lillie is a British television serial made by London Weekend Television for ITV and broadcast in 1978.This period serial starred Francesca Annis in the title role of Lillie Langtry...
" (1978). Langtry became the first publicly acknowledged mistress of the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII between 1877-80. The Prince of Wales was an occasional guest and shooting companion of Frank's cousin, Sir Philip Miles. In an interview published in several newspapers (including the Brisbane Herald) in 1882, Langtry said,
“It was through Lord RanelaghThomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount RanelaghLieutenant Colonel Thomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount Ranelagh KCB was a British aristocrat known for his involvement in the volunteer movement to recruit amateur soldiers for the defence of Britain and for his links to glamorous women of the era, notably the Pre-Raphaelite model Annie Miller and...
and the painter Frank Miles that I was first introduced to London society… I went to London and was brought out by my friends. Among the most enthusiastic of these was Mr Frank Miles, the artist. I learned afterwards that he saw me one evening at the theatre, and tried in vain to discover who I was. He went to his clubs and among his artist friends declaring he had seen a beauty, and he described me to everybody he knew, until one day one of his friends met me and he was duly introduced. Then Mr Miles came and begged me to sit for my portrait. I consented, and when the portrait was finished he sold it to Prince LeopoldPrince Leopold, Duke of AlbanyThe Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany was the eighth child and fourth son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow...
. From that time I was invited everywhere and made a great deal of by many members of the royal family and nobility. After Frank Miles I sat for portraits to Millais and Burne-JonesEdward Burne-JonesSir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
and now FrithWilliam Powell FrithWilliam Powell Frith , was an English painter specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in the Victorian era. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1852...
is putting my face in one of his great pictures."
Jack the Ripper suspect
For the theory that Miles was the Whitechapel murderer known as Jack the RipperJack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
, see Thomas Toughill
Thomas Toughill
Thomas Toughill is a non-fiction author born in Glasgow, Scotland. His works include Oscar Slater: The Mystery Solved, World To Gain: The Battle For Global Domination And Why America Entered WWII and "The Ripper Code"...
's 'The Ripper Code' (The History Press 2008). Given that at the time of the murders he was at the asylum at Brislington, over 120 miles (193.1 km) away from Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
and was suffering from a disease that would cause dementia, seizures and disfigurement, this would make it difficult for him to have escaped from the asylum, travelled unnoticed to London, committed his murders, travelled back and broken back in to the asylum undetected. He also does not match the physical descriptions of suspects, particularly concerning his height. Most descriptions of Jack the Ripper have him between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 7 inches, and most frequently described as "stout" whereas Miles was tall, of athletic build and keen on sport, particularly tennis.
An FBI profile of Jack the Ripper describes him as follows
...had difficulty in interacting with people in general and women in particular, blended in with his surroundings, had poor personal hygiene and appeared disheveled, was a quiet loner, withdrawn and asocial, was of lower social class, was the product of a broken home, raised by a dominant female figure who drank heavily and consorted with different men...
This description is almost the exact opposite of a distinctively tall, well-dressed and handsome man from a well-connected, upper class family, brought up in a secure home and leading the life of a gentleman.