Miranda Hill

Miranda Hill (Wisbech 1836–1910) was an English social reformer. She was a daughter of James Hill, a corn merchant, banker and follower of Robert Owen, and his third Caroline Southwood Smith, a teacher and a daughter of Dr Thomas Southwood Smith, the pioneer of sanitary reform. The family were brought up in reduced financial circumstances, after their father went bankrupt in 1840 (for a second time), necessitating them to leave their home Bank House, South Brink, Wisbech. To earn her living, Miranda became a governess, and later became a teacher as did some of her sisters and half-sisters.

Miranda Hill
Born1836
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
Died1910 (aged 73–74)
Marylebone, London, England
OccupationAuthor, Humanitarian

Miranda founded the influential Kyrle Society in 1875/1876, named after John Kyrle (1637–1724) for his creative philanthropy. The Society through its four committees provided art, music, books and open spaces to the working class poor, around the slogan "Bring Beauty Home to the Poor". This involved, at first, artistic decoration of hospitals, schools, literary institutes and working-class clubs. In 1876 her sister Octavia Hill became treasurer. There were numerous branches around the country, generally formed from around 1877 onwards, and one branch was supported by William Morris. Another notable supporter was the Arts and Crafts architect Lady Mary Lovelace. The Society's Open Space Committee was influential in saving numerous stretches of heathland and woodland in London, that would otherwise have been built on, notably in 1890 the opening of Vauxhall Park.[1] Many old burial grounds became public green spaces that are now highly prized leisure areas for Londoners. After 1885, a representative of the Society sat on the first Council of the National Trust.

There was also a horticultural wing aimed at children, and a branch called Invalid Children's Aid (ICA), which became independent in 1908. Membership of the Society often overlapped with that of the early women's suffrage movement.

Miranda also worked in Marylebone as a member of the Board of Guardians there.

She worked closely, from 1891, with her sister Octavia Hill on major housing reform projects in England.

Biography

Miranda Hill was a daughter of James Hill (1798-1872), a corn merchant, banker, school owner, theatre owner and follower of Robert Owen), and his third wife, Caroline Southwood Smith (1810-1902). They also had Octavia Hill (1836-1912), Gertrude Hill (1837-1923), Emily Southwood Hill (1840-1931) and Florence Hill (1843-1935). He had been widowed twice, and already had six surviving children (five daughters and a son) from his previous marriages. His first marriage was with Ann Jecks (1797-1823) which produced Julia Hill (1819-1894), Frederick Hill (1820-1820) and Louisa Hill (1822-1842) and his second with her younger sister Eliza Jecks (1802-1832) and children, Margaret Hill (1827-1924), Arthur Hill (1829-1909), Ida Eliza Hill (1830-1899) and Katherine Hill (1831-54). He had been impressed by the writings on education of his children's future governess (and future wife), Caroline, the daughter of Dr Thomas Southwood Smith, a pioneer of sanitary reform. He had engaged Caroline as a governess to his children in 1832, the year his second wife Eliza died, and they were married in July 1835 (the same year he bought the Georgian Wisbech Theatre (now the Angles Theatre), it may have been intended as a wedding present, as he went on to build a school for her), Miranda was born on 1 January 1836 two years before Octavia was born in Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, her father's eighth daughter and tenth child. The family's comfortably prosperous life was disrupted by James Hill's financial problems and his mental collapse. In 1840 he was declared bankrupt. Caroline Hill's father gave the family financial support, and took on some of Hill's paternal role. In 1841 the family were split up, Gertrude Hill went to live with her grandfather Thomas Southwood Smith's household and was still part of his household in 1861, the year he died. The 1851 census records Caroline Southwood Hill 42, annuitant,(born in Bristol) Miranda 15, scholar at home (born in Wisbech), Octavia 12, scholar at home (born in Wisbech), Emily 10 (born in Essex) and Florence 7 scholar at home (born in Leeds) all at Turnpike Rd, Finchley. James Hill is not listed, he died c1871.

Published works
  • Hill, Miranda; Kate Greenaway (1875). The fairy spinner and "Out of date or not?". London: Marcus Ward.
  • Hill, Miranda (1903). Cinderella.
  • Hill, Miranda (1903). Rumpelstiltzkin and Dummling, two plays.
  • Hill, Miranda; Maggie Browne (1906). The "little Folks" Plays: Containing Cinderella, Rumpelstiltzkin, and .... Cassell and Co.

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. Whelan, Robert (April 2009), "Octavia Hill and the environmental movement" (PDF), Civitas Review, 6 (1): 1–8
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