Craigentinny

Have you ever heard of “Measure Miller”? His life story is closely connected to this area: Craigentinny, a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. William Henry Miller, as he was formally called, was a wealthy landowner and a member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme. Miller was also a book collector. He carried a ruler to auctions to check the dimensions of books — his special quirk earned him the nickname “Measure Miller”. After losing his parliamentary seat in 1841, he retired to Craigentinny. He spent his final years planning his unusual final resting place. When he died in 1848, he left 20,000 pounds for the construction of a mausoleum. It was built in 1856. He left instructions to be buried in a lead-lined coffin 40 feet underground. The reason behind this unusual request remains a mystery to this day. Some people believe that he wanted to protect his body from grave robbers because the practice of body snatching was common at the time. However, others believe that there is something more to it and that he was hiding a secret about his life. The mausoleum is a massive structure with intricate carved panels of Carrara marble. To this day, it stands as a lonely monument in Craigentinny, prompting curious passersby to speculate about the strange life and death of the man they called “Measure Miller”.