Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet

Miles baronets, of Leigh Court
Arms	Azure a chevron paly of six ermine and or between three lozenges argent each charged with a fleur-de-lis sable, in chief upon an inescutcheon argent a sinister hand appaume coupled at the wrist gules
Crest	Upon a helm barry affronte with visor open a dexter arm embowed in armour proper garnished or supporting with the hand an anchor also proper
Motto	Labora sicut bonus miles

Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet (13 May 1797 – 17 June 1878), was an English politician, agriculturalist and landowner. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, and was created a baronet on 19 April 1859, of Leigh Court, Somerset.

Miles was the son of Philip John Miles (1773–1845) by his first marriage to Maria Whetham (1776–1811). His father was a landowner, shipowner, banker and reportedly the first millionaire in Bristol.

Miles married Catherine (1798–1869), daughter of John Gordon, on 12 September 1823, with whom he had the following children:-

He was Tory Member of Parliament (MP) for Chippenham from 1818 to 1820, for New Romney from 1830 to 1832, and sat for East Somerset from 1834 to 1865 as a Conservative. During his time as MP for East Somerset, he was returned unopposed at all elections bar one. He voluntarily retired his seat in 1865 and it was subsequently held from 1878 by Sir William's son, Sir Philip Miles. He served a total of 35 years 7 months and 30 days, making him one of the longest serving MPs in the UK's parliament.

Sir William was a staunch Conservative, opposed to the Reform Act and was a protectionist who favoured the Corn Law and supported the Duke of Richmond's Central Agricultural Protection Society (known as the "Anti-League"). A great supporter of the protectionist instincts of Benjamin Disraeli whose sympathies lay with the landowning interest in the Party, Miles supported Disraeli's early career and was desribed in The Athenaeum as "chiefly responsible for his appointment". The two shared extensive correspondence and visited each other's houses over many years. It was his actions as a leader of the protectionist faction of the Conservative Party in parliament and support for Lord Derby's Prime Ministership that saw him elevated to the Baronetage.

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