https://peeragenews.blogspot.com/2024/03/major-michael-thomas-noel-
hamilton.html

Friday, March 29, 2024
Major Michael Thomas Noel Hamilton Wills, LVO 1940-2024

Major Tom Wills, Coldstream Guards, scion of the Wills baronets, died 20
March, 2024. He was 83.

He was owner of Miserden Park, a grand Jacobean manor with expansive,
intricately laid out grounds near Stroud in Gloucestershire. He was High
Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1985, and appointed Exon HM Body Guard of
the Yeomen of the Guard in 1993

He was born 31 May, 1940, (twin with a brother Frederick), a son of Major
Michael Desmond Hamilton Wills, MC (1915-1943), Coldstream Guards, and his
wife Mary Margaret Mitford (1916-2006), scion of that landed gentry
family. His mother married 2ndly, 1947, Colonel Sir Martin St John
Valentine Gibbs, KCVO, CB, DSO (1917-1992, of The Manor House, Ewen, near
Cirencester.

Wills married in 1982 (div 1992), Penelope Howard-Baker (born 1953),
daughter of Benjamin Howard-Baker, of Glascoed Hall, Llansilin,
Shropshire, by his wife the former Ann Layfield, by whom he had issue, a
son, Nicholas James Noel Hamilton Wills (born 1983), now of Miderden, and
a daughter, Camilla Jane Hamilton Wills (born 1985).

Miserden was built in the early 17th century by the Sandys family. The
natural scenery of Miserden, where it’s situated, is spectacular: its
gardens overlook the River Frome and a deer park, while its grounds
incorporate woodland and farmland. This magical, multifaceted estate in a
Cotswolds hamlet, also called Miserden, has evolved gradually as
successive owners have left their mark on it.

In the 1920s, Edwin Lutyens made a significant contribution to Miserden,
which scooped the Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award in 2018; this
has been presented annually since 1984 and is sponsored by Christie’s. In
1919, (Frederick) Noel Hamilton Wills (1887-1927), (grandfather of Maj
Tom), bought the property in 1913 — and commissioned Lutyens to design a
new east wing with an arched loggia after the house was badly damaged by a
fire. He also created a loggia and a striking topiary yew walk featuring
crenellations echoing those of the loggia.

It seems to run in the Wills family to be green-fingered. Tom Wills, a
grandson of Noel and his wife the former Margery Fraser moved into the
estate after his grandmother died in 1980 and devoted himself for 40 years
to maintaining her legacy, while making his own additions, largely
inspired by his passion for trees and forestry. In 2013, he planted a
circle of lime trees opposite the house to mark the centenary of the Wills
family owning Miserden. He also established its arboretum, planting about
75 per cent of its trees.

Maj Tom Wills was appointed LVO by Queen Elizabeth II.

A private funeral for family and those of Miserden village, by
invitation, will be held on Wednesday 10 April, 2024. There will be a
Memorial Service at the Parish Church of St John Baptist, Cirencester on
Wednesday 15 May, 2024.