Background
Mills was the son of Charles Mills, 1st Baron Hillingdon, and his wife Lady Louisa Isabella, daughter of Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood.
Mills was the son of Charles Mills, 1st Baron Hillingdon, and his wife Lady Louisa Isabella, daughter of Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood.
In 1898 Charles Mills inherited the title Baron Hillingdon. In the same year Hillingdon commissioned Edwin Lutyens, who was then working locally, to design Overstrand Hall. Work began on Overstrand Hall in 1899 and it was completed by 1901.
Nikolaus Pevsner considered it one of Lutyens" most remarkable buildings, but other critics of the day thought it "lacked the picturesqueness of his best works".
Mills was godfather to Harry Elkins Widener, son of George Dunton Widener who both perished on the Titanic
Hillingdon married Alice Marion Harbord, daughter of Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield, in 1886. They were given Overstrand Hall as a wedding present.
23rd United Kingdom Parliament. 24th United Kingdom Parliament]
In the 1885 general election, Mills was elected as Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Sevenoaks, and held the seat until he stood down from the Commons at the 1892 general election.