Sir William Nisbet of Dean (c. 1570 – c. 1630) was a 16th/17th century Scottish merchant who twice served as

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 1616 to 1619 and 1622 to 1623.

Life

He was the son of Henry Nisbet of Dean, Provost of Edinburgh in 1597/98, and his wife Jonet Bannatyne or Bellenden (d. 1621). His father died in 1608 and William inherited Dean House in western Edinburgh, extending it greatly. He was twice Provost of Edinburgh (he pre-dated the use of the term Lord Provost). In 1616 he succeeded

Sir John Arnot John Arnot of Birswick (Orkney) (1530–1616) was a 16th-century Scottish merchant and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1587 to 1591 and from 1608 to death. He was Deputy Treasurer to King James VI. Career He was born ...

. He served a second term 1622/23. During his first term of office, in 1617, he would certainly have met and hosted King

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, in his role as leader of the capital city, on this the King's only return to Edinburgh after the

Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...

. As Dean House lay in the parish of St Cuthberts Church he is buried there with his father. Dean House was demolished in 1842 and the grounds used to create

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

. It had been downsized in the 18th century and was by then quite modest in scale. A window pediment commemorates his first marriage to Jonet Williamson, carved with "S. W. N. - D. I. W." with their heraldry. A pediment for the door of the house is inscribed; "S. W. N. - D. K. D", for Sir William Nesbit and his second wife, Dame Katherine Dick. Painted vignettes from the ceiling of the long gallery were salvaged by

Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe (1781?–1851) was a Scottish antiquary and artist. Life He was the second son of Charles Sharpe (originally Charles Kirkpatrick) of Hoddam, Dumfriesshire, by Eleonora, youngest daughter of John Renton of Lamerton, bor ...

and are now in the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

and John Knox House, the subjects include Cain and Abel, Lot and his daughters, Judith, and other subjects.

Family

Marriage Lintel from Dean House - William Nisbet and Janet Williamson - Dean Cemetery

Marriage Lintel from Dean House - William Nisbet to Katherine Dick c

William Nesbit married firstly Jonet Williamson (d. 1622) and secondly Katherine Dick (d. 1630) daughter 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 ...

. He was older brother to Patrick Nisbet, Lord Eastbank (1583-1682) was created 1st Baronet of Dean (a baronet of

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 ...

) in 1669. His brother James Nisbet (1557-1621) married Marion Arnot, daughter of

(also a Lord Provost of Edinburgh) and through this marriage inherited

Lochend House Lochend House, also known as Restalrig Castle Coventry, Martin (2001) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.300 and Lochend Castle, is an occupied house, incorporating the remains of a 16th-century L-plan castle, L-plan tower house, in ...

near

Restalrig Restalrig () is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalrig ...

, thereafter being known as James Nisbet of Restalrig. The marriage lintels and other ornate stones from Dean House are preserved on the lower south terrace of

References

External links

Painted panel from Dean House showing "Judith"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nisbet, William Businesspeople from Edinburgh Scottish merchants Lord Provosts of Edinburgh 1570 births 1630 deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain