Hampden Milton was born in the Cotswold village of Moreton-in-Marsh. The family then moved to Lancashire. Described by Tovey as a 'rolling stone' of an earlier era, he appears to have moved on a regular basis, his addresses being Manchester in 1891, Abergele in 1912, Beaumaris in 1914, Exmouth in 1917 and Mousehole in 1920.

While in Exmouth he was a regular exhibitor of Polperro scenes. By then a widower, he met his second wife, Ann. After their marriage in 1919, the couple moved to Mousehole, and then St Ives, where they lived at 13 Seaview Terrace.

Minton became a founder member of STISA in 1927, and on their Show Days he initially exhibited at Shore Studio. In the STISA Show Day of 1929 he exhibited three paintings of Perranuthnoe.

An oil painting on canvas of St Michael's Mount was offered for sale and illustrated in colour at Glennie's of Norwich in 1990.