Sir John Preston, Lord Fentonbarns (died 1616), of

Penicuik Penicuik ( ; ; ) is a town and former Police burgh, burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River Esk, Lothian, River North Esk. It lies on the A701 road, A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hil ...

, was a Scottish lawyer and judge who became

lord president of the court of session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

Life

He was the son of a burgess, town councillor, 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 of ...

in Edinburgh. John Preston was admitted advocate at the

Scottish bar The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a consti ...

before 20 October 1575. He frequently appeared in cases before the privy council. On 8 March 1595 he was elected an

ordinary lord of session The Outer House (abbreviated as CSOH in neutral citations) is one of the two parts of the Scottish Court of Session, which is the supreme civil court in Scotland. It is a court of first instance, although some statutory appeals are remitted to ...

. Preston's attendance at the Privy Council on 24 November 1596. The same year he was, along with

Edward Bruce Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick (Norman French: ; ; Modern Scottish Gaelic: or ; 1280 – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 struggle for the Scottish cro ...

, named king's commissioner to the general assembly of the kirk. Several further royal commissions followed. In September 1597, Preston joined a committee to advise the Scottish mint on the value of foreign silver and gold coins circulating in Scotland. He was a member of a committee of lawyers and ministers including John Russell,

Robert Rollock Robert Rollock (c. 15558 or 9 February 1599) was a Scottish theologian and minister in the Church of Scotland, and the first regent and first principal of the University of Edinburgh. Born into a noble family, he distinguished himself dur ...

and the

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

Henry Nisbet who drew up a syllabus for the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in July 1598 including readings from Latin authors. In January 1599, ploughmen working on his fields at Nether Liberton were threatened by Henry Wardlaw of Baberton and his armed followers. Wardlaw was arrested and imprisoned in a room above the porch of

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; ...

Royal finance and jewels

Preston became "Collector and Treasurer of the New Augmentation". In January 1599,

James VI James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

hoped that Preston and other exchequer officials would guarantee a sum of 1,500 crowns which he owed the goldsmith and financier

George Heriot George Heriot (15 June 1563 – 12 February 1624) was a Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist. He is chiefly remembered today as the founder of George Heriot's School, a large independent school in Edinburgh; his name has also been given to H ...

for jewels. They were minded to refuse the king. A letter from

of June 1599 mentions Preston's involvement in crown finance and the royal jewels. The King had instructed him to repay a sum of money advanced on the security of some of the

jewels of Anne of Denmark The jewels of Anne of Denmark (1574–1619), wife of James VI and I and queen consort of Scotland and England, are known from accounts and inventories, and their depiction in portraits by artists including Paul van Somer I, Paul van Somer. A few ...

to George Heriot. Preston however, had reserved the money for the costs of an embassy to France. On 2 October 1601 he was named one of eight commissioners to assist the

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

in the administration of his office. In recognition of his services

, on 10 February 1602, conceded to him and his wife, Lilias Gilbert, the lands of Guthrie in

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

, and on 30 March 1604 the lands of Penicuik with others lands in the same shire. As a member of the Privy Council, Preston went with others to

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

in May 1603 to discuss and investigate a controversy involving

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

who wished to take custody of her son, Prince Henry. Preston was one of the assessors at the trial in 1606 of the ministers concerned in holding the Aberdeen assembly. He was elected vice-president of the

court of session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

on 23 October 1607, to act in the absence of

Lord Balmerino The title of Lord Balmerino (or Balmerinoch) was a title in the Peerage of Scotland; it was created in 1606 and forfeited in 1746 on the attainder and execution of the 6th Lord Balmerino in the Tower of London. The title of Lord Coupar or Cupar ...

, the president; was one of the assessors at the trial of Balmerino in 1608; and, on Balmerino's removal from the presidency, was, on 6 June 1609, chosen to succeed him. About the end of April 1611 Preston was appointed one of a council of eight—the New Octavians—in whom the financial offices of the treasurership, the collectorship, and the comptrollership were vested. He died on 14 June 1616.

Family

By his first wife Elizabeth Fawside, Preston left a son, John Preston, on whom a Baronetcy of Nova Scotia was conferred on 22 February 1628, the Preston of Airdrie Baronetcy in the

County of Fife A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) ''Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denotin ...

. By his marriage to Elizabeth Turnbull, daughter of William Turnbull, the younger John Preston became possessor of the lands of Auchie,

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, on which a mansion-house was erected, named Prestonhall. The

Baronetcy 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 ...

is now dormant. His second son by his second wife Lilias Gilbert, daughter of the goldsmith

Michael Gilbert Michael Francis Gilbert (17 July 1912 – 8 February 2006) was an English solicitor and author of crime fiction. Early life and education Gilbert was born on 17 July 1912 in Billinghay, Lincolnshire, England, to Bernard Samuel Gilbert, a writ ...

and wife Sibilla Wycht, Michael Preston, became laird of Fentonbarns, but was executed for murder in 1631. His daughter Katherine Preston married John Morison of Saughtonhall (1558–1615), Treasurer of the City of Edinburgh, and they were parents to

Alexander Morison, Lord Prestongrange Alexander Morison (or Morrison), Lord Prestongrange (1579–1631) was a 17th-century Scottish judge, Senator of the College of Justice and Lord President of the Court of Session. Life He was the son of John Morison of Saughtonhall (1558–16 ...

. Nathaniel Udwart was Preston's nephew.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, John 1616 deaths Members of the Faculty of Advocates Lords President of the Court of Session Octavians People from Midlothian Senators of the College of Justice Year of birth missing