Simon Sidney Hill (1 October 1829 – 3 March 1908) was an English philanthropist, merchant, gentleman farmer, and justice of the peace.

[3] He was the sixth and youngest son of Thomas Hill (1778–1846),[4]: 351–352  a former master sweep and soot merchant,[5] and Elizabeth (1783–1857), née James.

[8][c] Hill was educated at Portway House boarding school,[10] located between Victoria Park and Partis College, in Weston, Bath.

[11] In September 1847, Sidney joined Sunday Methodist society classes, led by William Bobbett, at the Old Market Street chapel in Bristol, where he converted to Methodism.

When he came of age, he inherited money from his father's estate that he used to open a small linen draper shop at Berkeley Place, Clifton.

[1] Hill sold the drapery business and embarked on a sea voyage to New Zealand, but when the ship berthed at Algoa Bay in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, he decided to remain there.

[20] Their partnership, Savage & Hill, Colonial and General Merchants, began trading commodities from 95 and 97 Main Street (southern side) in Port Elizabeth.

[16] Hill had met her before their marriage, when he had been invited to Sunday tea at Bristol, and then at Sidney Villa in Dinghurst, Churchill,[18]: 9–10 [i] after William Bobbett had moved there in 1859,[28] following his retirement on 2 July 1859.

[18]: 17  Savage & Hill prospered after the growth of trade at Port Elizabeth following the discovery of diamonds at Griqualand West in 1870,[20] and the subsequent completion of the railway to Kimberley, Northern Cape, in 1873.

Despite being engaged in an expanding business, Hill found time for furthering the work of the Wesleyan Methodist church at Port Elizabeth, occupying the offices of superintendent of the Sunday school, class leader, and chapel and circuit steward.

[1] In April 1870, Hill gave £550 (equivalent to £66,500 in 2023) towards the construction of the original Wesleyan Methodist chapel at Russell Road, Port Elizabeth.

[18]: 62  They decided to winter in Bournemouth due to the mild climate there, but after only five weeks' residence,[18]: 63  Mary Ann died in the evening of 7 December 1874.

[23]: 47 [l] In mourning after Mary Ann's death, Hill returned to South Africa, but could not settle, and in June 1876, he decided to find somewhere to live near Churchill, close to his friend William Bobbett.

[46][47] By that point, he had accumulated considerable wealth, and consequently, was able to spend a substantial amount of money making improvements to Langford House.

[51][q] He installed a conservatory and greenhouses, constructed in teak by Foster and Pearson of Beeston, Nottinghamshire,[53] to provide the bedding and house plants for the estate.

[23]: 44 Hill took up a new life as a gentleman farmer,[23]: 44  adding stables to the estate, a dairy and "Langford Bullock Palaces" for his prized Red Scotch Shorthorn cattle.

Arthur Henry Carter, the owner of the post office,[64] would follow the instructions in the note and supply blankets, boots, food or whatever was required.

After returning from church on 26 January 1908, at about 4:00 pm, Hill slipped while walking across the Langford House hallway, fracturing his thigh.

Despite the cold and windy weather that day, hundreds of people attended from Churchill, Langford, Wrington, and other villages; there were so many mourners that the service had to be held outside the Methodist chapel.

[37]: 216  A memorial service was held at the Methodist chapel, Cheddar, in the evening of 15 March 1908, and was conducted by Henry John Stockbridge.

[37]: 217–218  Thomas Sidney Hill died on 25 September 1944(1944-09-25) (aged 70), and two years later, the Commissioners of Crown Land bought Langford House.

[24]: 234  The late Ronald Henry Bailey, a former editor of The Weston & Somerset Mercury newspaper, and an authority on Mendip folklore and other antiquarian matters,[83] described Hill as:[16] An exceptional man, among the last of the old school of benefactors who, in the days before National Pensions and State Health Services, made life tolerable for unfortunate neighbours when they fell by the wayside.

He died just as the social pattern was changing for the better.Nonetheless, Hill's wealth came from trade with southern Africa and it is not certain to what extent his fortune was amassed at the expense of others.

He founded and endowed the Queen Victoria Memorial Homes in Langford to benefit those who could not afford to rent decent and safe accommodation.