Lena Miller
This signature challenged me greatly – I had worked out that the first name was Lena, but couldn’t fathom what the surname was! For ages I was looking at permutations of Nella or Nelbi and falling down exotic rabbit holes where Lena Nella was a nom de plume of Nellie Melba…….. It wasn’t until I decided to put the signatures in date order, to see which groups of people were staying with the Lovetts at the same time, that I realised that there was another person on the 19th December 1912 and his signature was a lot easier to read! This person was a John A Miller. All of a sudden, things started to potentially fall into place – could Lena’s surname be Miller? A little bit of research later, and this was confirmed, Lena of the awful 24 hours was Lena Miller, wife of John.
Lena was born Eveline Francis Cookson, daughter of Col. John Blencowe Cookson and Constance Jane nee Fenwick. Her great-grandfather, Isaac Cookson, had bought an estate in the parish of Meldon, Northumberland in 1832 and commissioned the architect John Dobson to build a suitable manor house. This was completed in 1835, remodelled in the 20th-century by Edwin Lutyens, and remains in the Cookson family to this day Homepage - Meldon Park.
Lena seems to have spent much of her time at Meldon Hall. The 1871, 1881 and 1891 censuses all show Lena there with her parents, siblings and grandfather. We know that she must have spent some time elsewhere because in May 1886 she was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace (London Evening Standard, 6th May 1886).
On 28th February 1907, Lena Cookson married Sir John Alexander Miller, 3rd Baronet of Manderston, at Christ Church, Mayfair. Newspaper reports of the marriage (including in the Morpeth Herald, 9th March 1907) state that the wedding was a quiet affair with only close friends and family present – possibly because this was Sir John’s third wedding (the previous two having ended in divorce).
Lena’s father, John Blencowe Cookson, died on 4th February 1910 at Flemings Hotel, Clarges Street, Mayfair. The report in Clifton Society (10 February 1910) said that he had been ill for two weeks, and died of heart failure and other complications. He was laid to rest in St John’s Churchyard, Meldon.
About a month after her father’s death, Lena and John took a trip to South Africa. They returned on the ship Balmoral Castle on 21st May 1910. This was a trip that they made at least one other time; the London Evening Standard (26th May 1913) report that Sir John and Lady Miller will return “this week” from South Africa and according to incoming passenger lists, Lena and John were also out in South Africa in early 1914, returning to Southampton in April 1914.
Although John had inherited the Baronetcy of Manderston in Berwickshire, John rented Heywood House, Wiltshire from 1902. In 1911 John and Lena were living at Heywood House, Westbury. Visiting them were Ian and Dorothy Dennistoun; Dorothy was the step-daughter of John via his second wife Ada Mary, and John had given the bride away at Dorothy’s marriage in 1910. Should you wish to visit Heywood House, you can – and you can even host your own business from there Heywood House | Blog |100 Years of Heywood House
Lena and John seem to have moved from Heywood House in 1915, and taken up residence at Alexander House, Newmarket. There, Lena joined in with the war effort and became a Red Cross VAD Commandant (Suffolk 92). She was based out of Sussex Lodge, a Red Cross Hospital in Newmarket.
In February 1918, John died. Lena remained at Alexander House, and the 1921 census gives us the opportunity to verify that the signature in the Guest Book is indeed that of the Eveline Frances Miller who filled in the householders form for the census.
The following year, Lena moved to Hildersham Hall where she stayed until 1931. I am not certain where Lena went after moving out of Cambridgeshire, but her probate record gives her address as 15 Grosvenor Square, W1, although she died at The Thatched House, Bisham Road, Marlow on 25 August 1941.
And as for what made December 18th/19th such an awful 24 hours? Still a mystery!