Edward Milner was an English landscape architect

Landscape architect

A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

.

Early life and career

Edward Milner was born in Darley

Darley Dale

Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of around 6,000 people. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road.- History :...

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, the eldest child of Henry Milner and Mary née Scales. Henry Milner was employed at Chatsworth

Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...

 by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire

William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire KG, PC , styled Marquess of Hartington until 1811, was a British peer, courtier and Whig politician...

, as a gardener and porter. Edward was educated at Bakewell Grammar School

Lady Manners School

Lady Manners School is an English secondary school and Specialist Music College as designated by the Specialist Schools Trust situated in Bakewell, a market town in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire...

 and was then apprenticed to Chatsworth's head gardener, Joseph Paxton

Joseph Paxton

Sir Joseph Paxton was an English gardener and architect, best known for designing The Crystal Palace.-Early life:...

. In 1841 he continued his studies in Paris at the Jardin des Plantes

Jardin des Plantes

The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...

 and returned home to become Paxton's assistant. He worked with Paxton in developing and managing Princes Park, Liverpool

Princes Park, Liverpool

Princes Park in Toxteth, Liverpool, England, is a 45 hectare municipal park, 2 miles south east of Liverpool city centre. In 2009 it had it status upgraded to a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage....

 and assisted him at Osmaston

Osmaston, Derbyshire Dales

Osmaston is a small village in the Derbyshire Dales in the county of Derbyshire in England.Located two and a half miles south of Ashbourne, Osmaston is an archetypal English village with thatched cottages and a village pond.-History:...

 Manor in Derbyshire. In 1847 he laid out the Italian Garden at Tatton Park

Tatton Park

Tatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, to the north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a manor house dating from medieval times, Tatton Old Hall, gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over 100 events annually...

, Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, which had been designed by Paxton. When Paxton re-erected The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...

 in Penge Park, Sydenham

Sydenham

Sydenham is an area and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham; although some streets towards Crystal Palace Park, Forest Hill and Penge are outside the ward and in the London Borough of Bromley, and some streets off Sydenham Hill are in the London Borough of Southwark. Sydenham was in...

 in 1852, Milner was appointed as the superintendent of works. He also worked for Paxton in creating the People's Park, Halifax

Halifax, West Yorkshire

Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...

 for Francis Crossley

Francis Crossley

Sir Francis Crossley, 1st Baronet, of Halifax , was a British carpet manufacturer, philanthropist and Liberal Party politician.-Life:...

.

Independent career

From the mid-1850s, Milner worked as an independent landscape gardener. He received commissions for work in England and Wales, including designing three public parks in Preston, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. These parks were constructed as part of a scheme for relieving unemployment caused by the cotton famine in the 1860s. He also designed gardens in Germany and Denmark. In 1881 he became principal of the Crystal Palace School of Gardening, established by the Crystal Palace Company.

Works as an independent designer

This is an incomplete list.

Location	Garden	Details	Date	Refs
Llanfairfechan Llanfairfechan Llanfairfechan is a town and community in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies on the coast of north Wales on the route of the A55 road, between Penmaenmawr and Bangor. It previously was in Gwynedd and prior to that was in Caernarfonshire. For ceremonial and electoral boundary purposes it was...	Bryn-y-Neuadd
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...	Hartsholme Hall	For Joseph Shuttleworth Clayton & Shuttleworth Clayton & Shuttleworth was an engineering company located at Stamp End Works, Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The company was established in 1842 when Nathaniel Clayton formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Joseph Shuttleworth .-History:...
Derbyshire Derbyshire Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...	Stancliffe Hall Stancliffe Hall Stancliffe Hall is a grade II Listed building on Whitworth Road in the settlement of Darley Dale, near Matlock, Derbyshire.-Early history:In 1817, Magna Britannia reported that...	For Joseph Whitworth Joseph Whitworth Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads...
Tal-y-Cafn Tal-y-Cafn Tal-y-Cafn is a small settlement in Conwy county borough, north Wales.It lies in the Conwy valley close to the Roman settlement of Canovium at Caerhun, and was the site of a Roman river-crossing point of the River Conwy...	Bodnant Bodnant Garden Bodnant Garden is a National Trust property near Tal-y-Cafn, in the county borough of Conwy, Wales. Bodnant Garden is situated above the River Conwy and overlooks the Conwy valley towards the Carneddau range of mountains.- History :...  (original)	For H. D. Pochin Henry Davis Pochin Henry Davis Pochin was an English industrial chemist. He was the son of a yeoman farmer of Leicestershire who served an apprenticeship to James Woolley , a manufacturing chemist in Manchester, and in course of time became his partner. Woolley died in 1858 and Pochin kept a manuscript diary of...
Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...	Rangemore Hall	For M. T. Bass Michael Thomas Bass, Jr. Michael Thomas Bass DL was a British brewer and member of the British House of Commons. Under his leadership, Bass became the largest brewery in the world and the best known brand in the United Kingdom...
Dorset Dorset Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...	Iwerne Minster Iwerne Minster Iwerne Minster is a village in North Dorset, England, situated under Cranborne Chase in the Blackmore Vale just off the A350. The village has a population of 889 . A cheese shop employs 57 persons...	For G. G. Glyn George Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton George Grenfell Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton PC , was a British Liberal politician. He held office in three of the Liberal administrations of William Ewart Gladstone.-Background:...
Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...	Highbury Highbury, Birmingham Highbury, also known as Highbury Hall, now a Grade II* listed building, was commissioned as his Birmingham residence by Joseph Chamberlain in 1878, two years after he became Member of Parliament for Birmingham. It received its name from the Highbury area of London, where Chamberlain lived as a child...	For Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
Bath	Locksbrook Cemetery Locksbrook Cemetery Locksbrook Cemetery is a municipal cemetery, opened in 1864, located in Lower Weston, Bath, England. The cemetery was closed for general use in 1937 with over 30,000 internments there...
Dingestow Dingestow Dingestow is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales.-Location:Dingestow is located three miles south of Monmouth and approximately the same distance north east from Raglan in rural Monmouthshire.-History and amenities:...	Dingestow Court
Peterborough Peterborough Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...	Elton Hall Elton Hall Elton Hall is a baronial hall in Elton, Cambridgeshire. It has been the ancestral home of the Proby family since 1660.The hall lies in an estate through which the River Nene runs...
Halifax Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...	Stoney Royd cemetery		Opened 1861
Horsham Horsham Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...	Warnham Court		1864
Preston	Moor Park Moor Park, Preston Moor Park is a large park to the north of the city centre of Preston, Lancashire, England. Moor Park is also the name of the electoral ward covering the park and the surrounding area...		Opened 1867
Preston	Miller Park Miller Park, Preston Miller Park is a public park under the management of Preston City Council. It is located on the banks of the River Ribble in Preston, Lancashire in the north west of England. The park is one of two city centre Victorian era parks, the other being the adjacent and larger Avenham Park...		Opened 1867
Preston	Avenham Park Avenham Park Avenham Park is a public park in Avenham, close to the centre of Preston in Lancashire in the northwest of England, and managed by Preston City Council.The park is located in Preston's Conservation area and leads down to the banks of the River Ribble...		Opened 1867
Buxton Buxton Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...	Pavilion Gardens		1871
Lincoln Lincoln, Lincolnshire Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....	Lincoln Arboretum Lincoln Arboretum The Lincoln Arboretum is an park in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The park has two ponds and varied tree cover, and was designed and laid out between 1870 and 1872 by the celebrated Victorian gardener Edward Milner...		Opened 1872
Bromyard Bromyard Bromyard is a town in northeast Herefordshire, England with a population of approximately 4,000. It lies near to the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 between Leominster and Worcester. Bromyard has a number of traditional half-timbered pubs and some buildings dating back to Norman times...	Bredenbury Court		c. 1876
Halifax	Shroggs Park	For Colonel Edward Akroyd	Opened 1881
Morpeth Morpeth, Northumberland Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population... , Wallington Hall Wallington Hall Wallington is a country house and gardens located about west of Morpeth, Northumberland, England, near the village of Cambo. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1942, after it was donated by Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, the first donation of its kind...	Parterre Parterre A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...		1882
Westphalia Westphalia Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...	Schloss Anholt	For Prince Salm-Salm Salm-Salm The Principality of Salm-Salm was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located in the present-day French départements of the Bas-Rhin and the Vosges and was one of a number of partitions of Salm.-History:...
Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...	Knutenborg Park	For Count E. C. Knuth

Personal life

In 1844 he married Elizabeth Mary Kelly of Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 with whom he had 11 children. The family moved to Norwood, London, and later to Dulwich Wood Park

Dulwich Wood

Dulwich Wood together with the adjacent Sydenham Hill Wood is the largest extant part of the ancient Great North Wood. The two woods were separated after the relocation of The Crystal Palace in 1854 and the creation of the high level line in 1865...

. Milner appointed his son Henry Ernest as his principal assistant. Edward Milner founded the firm of Milner-White which survived until the retirement of Frank Marshall in 1995, at which time it was the oldest garden design and landscape architecture practice in the British Isles. He died at his home in 1884 leaving an estate

Estate (law)

An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...

valued at slightly over £8,000 (£ today).

Further reading