Sir James Dick of Prestonfield (15 November 1728) was a 17th and 18th century Scottish merchant who served as

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by City_of_Edinburgh_Council, the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the e ...

from 1679 to 1681. He was the first Baronet of Prestonfield and was progenitor to the Dick baronets.

Life

Dick was born around 1644. He the son of Alexander Dick and his wife Helen Rocheid. Alexander Dick was the son of

William Dick of Braid Sir William Dick of Braid (1580–1655) was a 17th-century Scottish landowner, banker and merchant who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1638 to 1640. His fortunes took him from being "the richest man in Scotland" in 1650 to his deat ...

, a statesman who was

from 1638 to 1640, and who had loaned the city £45,000 in 1646. Prestonfield House - geograph

Dick was a merchant and

Dean of Guild A Dean of Guild, under Scots law, was one of a group of burgh magistrates who, in later years, had the care of buildings. The leader of the group was known as Lord Dean of Guild. Originally, the post was held by the head of the Guild brethren o ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He purchased the Priestfield estate, including

Priestfield House Priestfield House was a Victorian Country House near Cults, Fife, Scotland. History The estate, originally an outlying property of Crawford Priory, was purchased from the Earl of Glasgow by a wealthy merchant, James Martin Esq. in 1889. In 1 ...

, in 1677. In 1679 he was elected

under the title of James Dick of Priestfield, in succession to Sir Francis Kinloch. In 1681/82 he was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Edinburgh. Priestfield House was built by

King James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

's printer,

Walter Chepman Walter Chepman (died 1532) was a Scottish merchant, notary and civil servant active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Chepman served at the Scottish court during the reigns of James IV and James V. In partnership with And ...

. The house had a history of Catholic sympathy, which was tolerated in the Scottish upper classes despite being illegal. In 1681 the original house was burnt down in an anti-Catholic demonstration, and Dick employed the architect William Bruce to design a new house. The U-plan house, which had a formal garden attached, was not completed and occupied until 1689. It was then renamed Prestonfield House to distance it from the word ''priest'', with its Catholic associations. James then became known as James Dick of Prestonfield and most records use this term, despite being technically incorrect in his earlier life. Dick was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

at the

Union of 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

. In 1713 he purchased the estate of

Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...

from Hugh Wallace of

Ingliston Ingliston (; sco, Inglistoun) is an area in the west of Edinburgh, near Maybury, South Gyle and Newbridge, and is home to Edinburgh Airport and The Royal Highland Showground. History The name Ingliston either means the "settlement of the Ing ...

who had purchased it from the Forresters, the traditional family in that area, in 1698. Dick died on 15 November 1728.

Family

Dick married Anne Paterson, the daughter of William Paterson of Dunmure (or Drumure) in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. Their daughter Janet married William Cunningham of Caprington. Their son William inherited the baronetcy in 1728, and readopted the surname Dick (sometimes Dick-Cunningham).

Life

Family

Notes

References

Further reading