John Jarvis Millson
Born 1850
Died 3 January 1919
Active: 1881 - 1919
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, stone and marble mason, wood carver
Born in Donington, Lincolnshire. Son of Enoch Millson (c.1812-1865), a carpenter and builder employing 3-4 men c.1851-61 whose effects were valued at under £800. He moved to Manchester by the mid-1860s and went into partnership with Evan Williams as Williams and Millson. They continued trading together until around the turn of the century after which Millson worked under his own name. By this date he had earned the reputation for being one of Manchester's most 'versatile and talented' architectural sculptors and his carving for All Saints, Stockport and Lichfield Cathedrals was considered 'marked by great beauty of form, delicacy of expression, and perfection of finish.' ('Bury Times', 12 October 1901 quoted in Wyke, 2004, p. 454). John Jarvis was employing his son Leonard Bilton Millson (born 1884) in the family business by this date.
Numerous buildings in Manchester, ranging from commercial and civic buildings to churches and private dwellings, are ornamented by Jarvis's carvings and sculpture in wood and stone. Millson's work was also exported abroad. Wyke (2004) provides detailed descriptions of Millson's Manchester commissions for: the Blundell Memorial; Bury Art Gallery; Bury Arts and Crafts Centre; the Fire and Police Stations, London Road; Mynshull's House; Oldham Public Library; Touchstones, the Esplanade, Rochdale; and a statue of Edward VII for Bolton Royal Infirmary, (1914).
Wealth at death: £5,460 3s. 2d.
Probate date: 20 March 1919
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited. Click here for more information.
Designed Panel
Carved Reredos for Middlewick Church
Exhibited Reredos for Middlewick Church
Locations
Address 11 Warde Street Hulme Manchester | View on map
1871 (Circa)
Address 7 Plymouth Street Salford Manchester | View on map
1881 (Circa) - 1891 (Circa)
Address 113 Broughton Lane Salford Manchester | View on map
1901 (Circa) - 1911 (Circa)
Address 6 Portugal Road Prestwich | View on map
1919
Living at this address at the time of his death
Ran a business at 24 City Road Manchester | View on map
1881 (Circa) - 1911 (Circa)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at Manchester Art Gallery, First Exhibition of Arts and Crafts, 1891
Multiple works
Exhibited at Exhibits of the Northern Art Workers' Guild (Manchester), 1911
'Lime Tree Drop'
Institutional and Business Connections
May be connected to Earp, Hobbs & Miller (by 1900)
An entry in 'British Sculpture in the Lady Lever' (pp.64-5) states that Earp, Hobbs & Miller were successors to John Jarvis Millson's highly successful Manchester based business.
Member of Northern Art Workers' Guild
1911 (Circa)
Received commission from Douglas & Fordham
Traded as Williams and Millson
1870 (Circa) - 1900 (Circa)
Personal and Professional Connections
Collaborated with J. Lanegan
1891 (Circa)
Collaborated with J. Yule
1891 (Circa)
Mother/father/parent of Leonard Bilton Millson
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Sculptor (wood and stone) [crossed out and overwritten 'mason']' employer and his son Leonard Millson 'Woodcarver's apprentice' worker
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Sculptor, modeller, wood and stone carver' employer
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
'Carver'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Master Sculptor'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Stone and Wood Carver' employer working on own account and his son Leonard Bilton Millson 'Stone and Wood Carver' worker, both connected to the 'Building trade'
Sources
British Sculpture in the Lady Lever Art Gallery
1999
pp. 64-5
Catalogue of the Exhibits of the Northern Art Workers Guild (Manchester Art Gallery), 1911
1911
Cat. No. 36, pp. 68, 82
Catalogue of the First Exhibition of Arts and Crafts, City of Manchester Art Gallery, 1891
1891
Cat. No. 31, p. 4
Catalogue of the Second Exhibition of Arts and Crafts, City of Manchester Art Gallery, 1895
1895
Cat. No. 687, pp. 247, 257
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
2004
Class: HO107; Piece: 2096; Folio: 156; Page: 28; GSU roll: 87725
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
2004
Class: RG10; Piece: 4006; Folio: 69; Page: 1; GSU roll: 846103
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
Class: RG11; Piece: 3954; Folio: 103; Page: 20; GSU roll: 1341944
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
Class: RG12; Piece: 3212; Folio 38; Page 16; GSU roll: 6098322
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2001
Class: RG13; Piece: 3723; Folio: 104; Page: 12
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2009
RG14PN23986 RG78PN1382 RD465 SD2 ED10 SN15
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: John Jarvis Millson
Registration Year: 1850
Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun
Registration district: Spalding
Parishes for this Registration District: View Ecclesiastical Parishes associated with this Registration District
Inferred County: Lincolnshire
Volume: 14
Page: 599
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: John Jarvis Millson
Probate Date: 20 Mar 1919
Death Date: 3 Jan 1919
Death Place: Manchester, England
Registry: Manchester
Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester Public Sculpture of Britain
2004
p. 454 and multiple references to individual works
Slater's Manchester and Salford Directory, 1881
1881
Trades section, pp. 176, 216
Slater's Manchester, Salford and Suburban Directory, 1911
1911
pp. 1986, 2038, 2072
Citing this record
'John Jarvis Millson', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib5_1217259697, accessed 01 Feb 2023]
