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Philippa (Pippa) Miller (1905-2006) was a well-known Norfolk-based artist and schoolteacher whose love for the Broads, local flora and fauna, and village life, was captured in a series of 8mm films made between c.1965 and 1975. Comprised of nearly 100 individual films, the Philippa Miller collection is held at the East Anglian Film Archive, Norwich.
Philippa Ruth Miller c.1928. Courtesy of the Museum of the Broads
Pippa Miller was the daughter of Frederick, an Oulton Broad boat-builder, and Susan (also known as Daisy), an amateur artist and musician who carved nameplates for the boats whilst caring for Pippa and her brother Martin (Miller, 2008: 17). Following in the footsteps of mother Daisy, Philippa developed an early interest in painting and other artistic pursuits.
Daisy’s sister Ruth became a further influence in Philippa’s life, handcrafting a miniature cardboard cottage for the young Pippa as a Christmas gift. Miller would later produce similar models throughout her life, some of which survive in a collection of the artist’s work held at the Museum of the Broads, Norfolk. In Philippa’s youth, the Miller family spent a great deal of time traversing the Broads on a converted wherry, with Pippa finding inspiration for her artwork in the surrounding landscapes.
Miller also created new artworks displayed in the window of the family business and brochures promoting yachting holidays (Miller, 2008: 34). It was during this period that Miller produced a hand-lettered booklet on parchment paper entitled 'Broadland Charm'. Featuring many of Miller’s water colour illustrations, the booklet was later reproduced by the Museum of the Broads in 2006. In 1923, Miller wrote of the Broads’ “delights and charm - I love every breath of it. Even in a storm, when all the furies are let loose, then I am completely happy” (Miller quoted in Collins, 2006b).
Miller developed an interest in travel from an early age, starting with several trips as a young girl with Fred throughout Europe (Suffolk Artists, n.d.). Many of these excursions were captured in paintings, sketches and, later, on 8mm cine film. Miller’s interest in travel and adventure was further in evidence when, at the age of twelve, she joined the recently formed Girl Guides Association, later becoming a patrol leader.
As a teenager, Miller often visited London with Daisy, taking in many of the galleries, museums and theatre shows on offer. At home, Miller would often sit and read as Daisy played the music of Chopin, Grieg, Brahms, and Beethoven on the piano. Though both parents were supportive of their daughter’s artistic pursuits, it was Daisy who envisioned a future in the creative arts for their daughter:
Father would have liked me to go into his business, but I’m afraid, that (backed by my mother) knowing that I was not very keen on working at a job where the hours were completely unpredictable and my busiest time would be always when everyone else would be having holidays or enjoying long summer evenings, I finally decided to try for a career using my ability in art, which I seemed to have inherited from both my parents (Extract from Miller’s journals courtesy of the Museum of the Broads).
In 1921, Pippa went on to study at Lowestoft School of Art and exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool in 1924 (Suffolk Artists, n.d.). Whilst studying at Lowestoft, the enterprising Philippa joined fellow students in running a small stall at Pakefield Cliff, selling a variety of their own hand-crafted wares throughout the busy summer period. In 1929, Miller’s artwork featured on the front cover of the Lowestoft town guide 'Land of the Rising Sun and Gateway of the Broads', now recognised as "a classic image of the pre-war seaside holiday resort" (Museum of the Broads, n.d.).
As an adult, Miller continued to spend time sailing the Broads alone or with friends. Reflecting on the Broads in a pre-war memoir, Miller spoke of the
vast and almost unending flatness of lonely marsh, swept and torn with rain, the monotony relieved by windmills with fast-twirling sails and by clusters of willows striving with all their might to keep their blue-grey coats from tearing into even tinier shreds than they already are, looking lonely, bleak and wild. Imagine yourself, warmly clad, a tiller in one hand, a straining rope in the other, and your back and feet jammed hard against the combings of a sturdy little yacht […] On you speed, past sleepy hamlets and old-world inns, where ancient ferry boats still ply from quay to quay. Before you now is the promise of a glorious sunset, an expanse of wind-blown clouds low on the horizon (Quoted in Collins, 2006a: 30).
Miller moved to Norwich in 1930 and taught art and craft at what became the Blyth-Jex Comprehensive and was a member of the Norfolk & Norwich Art Circle, 1933-1976 (Collins, 2006b). During the Second World War, Miller continued to work as a schoolteacher during the day and assisted rescue services through the night as an ambulance driver (Hardy, 2005).
Miller also documented the effects of the Baedeker Raids on Norwich, targeting towns of cultural and historical significance, in a series of sketches, often completed within hours of the attack, demonstrating that the main areas of destruction were the terraces and suburbs (Museum of the Broads, n.d.). The works were later bequeathed to the Norwich Castle Museum and, as part of Miller’s centenary celebrations in 2005, were displayed at Norwich Cathedral as part of the exhibition 'An Artist’s War', followed subsequently by 'An Artist's Broadland', which included Miller’s water colours of the Broads (Collins, 2006a).
Close friend and artist Margaret Thomas said of Miller, “Pippa never married so she could really concentrate on her art. It was her passion. She was always conscientious about her work. She liked to experiment with different media, making people's hair out of pen nibs, say. She has a very good imagination and was a very good draughtswoman but had a scorn for modern, abstract work” (Quoted in Hardy, 2005).
North Norfolk Coast: Blakeney to Walcott (c.1966). Courtesy of the East Anglian Film Archive
After retiring from teaching in 1965, Miller worked alongside former teaching colleague and fellow amateur filmmaker, Frances Procter, in documenting village signs throughout Norfolk (Norfolk and Suffolk Journal, 1981: 3). This work was subsequently published across three volumes of The Story of Village and Town Signs in Norfolk, copies of which were accepted by Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother for inclusion in their personal libraries (Miller, 2008: 111).
Miller and Procter also worked together to document the vanishing windmills located along the broads, culminating in the self-published work In Search of Watermills.
Though little is known about Procter outside of the information ascertained from Miller’s journals, it is clear that both were ardent amateur filmmakers during their retirement and life together at 7 Clabon Second Close, Norwich, where they lived for almost 30 years until Procter’s death in 1984.
These films capture holidays on the Broads and elsewhere in the U.K. alongside scenes of their home in Norwich and surrounding area. Miller’s films, produced between 1965 and 1975, demonstrate a continued fascination and appreciation of the countryside and village life, with occasional appearances of close friends and relatives.
Many of the Standard-8 and Super-8 films held at the East Anglian Film Archive are housed in individual cardboard sleeves decorated by Miller in a style befitting the content of each reel and are indicative of the artist’s creative flair which extended beyond watercolours and sketches. These are accompanied by handwritten notes detailing locations and activities depicted on screen, possibly used by Miller as a guide during editing.
Miller’s interest in photography began after acquiring a box-camera as a student at Lowestoft, later developing the hobby further when creating slides for use in talks and lectures associated with her work on village signs and windmills of the region. By the mid-1960s, both Miller and Procter invested in cine equipment, allowing them to "show movement such as breaking waves, galloping horses or children’s activities as well as giving panoramic views across the countryside" (Extract from Miller’s journals courtesy of the Museum of the Broads). As suggested within Miller’s journals, it is likely that some of these film were also used to illustrate the talks given by Miller and Procter.
Balloon Adventures (c.1970). Courtesy of the East Anglian Film Archive
Perhaps unsurprising, many of the film in the collection feature the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads and surrounding areas, including Broads (1966), Wherry Albion Outing (1968), and Oulton Broad Regatta (1970s), documenting various aspects of the past and present of industry and leisure in the region. The collection also covers many of Miller’s trips with friends throughout the UK and abroad, such as, Derbyshire (1968), Lakes in Spring (1969), and Ibiza (1969).
Another important film in the collection is “Close” Friends (1965), which captures the day-to-day chores and activities of friends and neighbours in and around Miller’s Norwich home. Miller, who purchased the property in 1947 and remained there for over 50 years, first shared the home with friend and colleague Pamela until 1952 before being joined by Procter in 1955.
As evidence though Miller’s films and journal entries, the house in Norwich clearly played an important role in the artist’s life and it was there where Miller spent many hours painting and tending to the garden depicted in the film Our Garden (c.1973). Covering various season and life events, “Close” Friends shows neighbours shovelling snow from the driveway, children at play during hot summer days, and a bride accompanied by her father on the day of her wedding. Miller's close relationship with these neighbours is also illustrated within her journals where she provides biographical detail for some of the most notable residents.
Accompanying the various travelogues and home movies in the Miller collection are examples of the filmmaker’s ventures into other modes of storytelling, including Balloon Adventures (c.1970), the making of which is recounted in Miller’s journals:
Once I actually made a film! about a balloon which escaped and blown by the wind raced over the countryside, having many adventures, before a dramatic fall from a cliff top to the beach down below, whereupon my poodle “Puck” chased down and captured it. It burst! – my startled dog looked up guiltily and them promptly buried the evidence! (Extract from Miller’s journals courtesy of the Museum of the Broads).
Selected Filmography
“Close” Friends (1965) Watch via EAFA.org
Broads (1966)
North Norfolk Coast: Blakeney to Walcott (c.1966) Watch via EAFA.org
Derbyshire (1968)
Wherry Albion Outing (1968)
Ibiza (1969)
Lakes in Spring (1969)
Sheep Fair (1969) Watch via EAFA.org
Balloon Adventures (c.1970)
Oulton Broad Regatta (1970s)
Seaside Pleasures at Hunstanton (c.1972) Watch via EAFA.org
Our Garden (c.1973)
Oxnead, Buxton Mill and Swans (1974) Watch via BFI Player
Bibliography
BFI Player. 2022. ‘Seaside Pleasures at Hunstanton.’ [Online] Available at: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-seaside-pleasures-at-hunstanton-1972-online [accessed 7 October 2022].
Collins, Ian. 2006a. ‘Obituary: Pippa Miller: Lover of the Norfolk Broads who Painted the Effects of Baedeker Raids on Norwich.’ The Guardian. 29 May, p. 30.
Collins, Ian. 2006b. ‘Philippa Miller.’ Eastern Daily Press. May 18. [Online] Available at: https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/obituaries/philippa-miller-7575024 [accessed 19 December 2022].
Hardy, Sarah. 2005. ‘Vision of a City at War.’ Eastern Daily Press. 13 Jan. [Online] Available at: https://www.edp24.co.uk/things-to-do/vision-of-a-city-at-war-7571170 [accessed 19 December 2022].
Miller, Philippa. 2008. Norfolk Broads – The Golden Years: Pictures and Memories 1920s-1950s (edited by Peter Haining). Wellington: Halsgrove.
Museum of the Broads. 2022. ‘Philippa Miller: A Broadlands Artist.’ [Online] Available at: https://www.museumofthebroads.org.uk/virtual-museum/philippa-miller/ [accessed 7 October 2022].
Norfolk and Suffolk Journal. 1981. ‘Sign Unveiled.’ 7 August, p. 3.
Suffolk Artists. 2022. ‘Miller, Philippa.’ [Online] Available at: https://suffolkartists.co.uk/index.cgi?choice=painter&pid=444 [accessed 7 October 2022].
Other Sources
Philippa Ruth Miller’s journals are held at the Museum of the Broads, Stalham.