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in 1823. He died aged 94 at
Valleyfield House on 7 May 1834, and was buried in Culross Abbey Parish Church. As his marriage had been childless, on his death the direct male line of the Preston baronets became extinct, and the baronetcy passed to his cousin, also named Sir Robert Preston (the son of
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between 1767 and 1776, having been made a
Commander of the Company in 1768. Preston returned to London for good in 1777, and entered a business partnership with his friend Charles Foulis, who had previously managed his voyages. Using funds accumulated in the services of the East India Company,
291:. Due to his connection to marine trade and his portly stature, Preston acquired the nickname 'Floating Bob'. His wealth was further boosted in the 1780s by inheriting the estate of his friend and colleague Foulis, who had made Preston his heir. In 1781 he was made an Elder Brethren of
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Sir Robert donated some of his fortune to charitable works, such as financial help for the poor in
Culross and Torryburn, and a hospital for elderly women in Culross. His large-scale building and industrial projects were envisaged as a lasting monument to his name.
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to improve
Valleyfield's grounds. Valleyfield was Repton's only project in Scotland, for which he created ornate terraces and an expansive romantic landscaped park. In parallel, Preston expanded his land holdings in the parishes of
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merchant and 25 years his junior, on 27 April 1790. The match further increased his fortune due to
Elizabeth's large dowry. Preston was well-connected in the political and artistic circles of his time in
510:). Neither the House nor its landscaped gardens have survived to the present day. The value of Preston's assets at his death was estimated to be over £1 million (equivalent to £121 million in 2021).
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486:, Preston directed the development of Preston Crescent in the 1820s, a new road and residential site to the south of the town on the banks of the Inner Bay. Alongside a small stone bridge (today a
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had been in possession of the estate of
Valleyfield since at least 1534. Because Preston had four older brothers, he did not expect to inherit the baronetcy and instead turned to trade.
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Note that while
Valleyfield is in the modern county of Fife, the lands around Culross formed an exclave of Perthshire
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Preston was now wealthy enough himself to take over the management of several ships for the company, among them the
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first as Third Mate in 1761/62, then as Second Mate in 1764/65. He was promoted to captain the trading ship
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Preston only retired from business when he was already 83 years old, and closed his last London office in
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around the island through the construction of a sea wall, Preston used the coal to fuel the production of
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752:"PRESTON, Robert (1740-1834), of Valleyfield, Perth and Woodford, Essex | History of Parliament Online"
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in 1792. Preston generally supported the governments of
William Pitt, and repeatedly voted against the
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Sir Robert immediately set about developing his property. In 1801, he commissioned renowned
English
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government which took over from Pitt between 1801 and 1804. Despite his 20 years in parliament, the
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Together with
Charles Foulis, Preston established himself as an insurance broker with premises in
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Preston was born in 1740 as the eighth of nine children of Sir George Preston, 4th Baronet of
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is also named for Sir Robert, who erected a flagpole there intended to aid marine traffic.
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until 1875, and returned to Scotland to the family estate at Valleyfield House.
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was created from a revision of this article dated 12 October 2021
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Already in his 50s, Preston married Elizabeth Brown, daughter of a wealthy
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855:"Floating Bob and the Forgotten Mansion: the story of Valleyfield Woods"
596:"PRESTON, Robert (1740-1834), of Woodford, Essex and Valleyfield, Perth"
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Grave of Sir Robert and his wife Elizabeth, Culross Abbey Parish Church
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In 1800, Preston unexpectedly inherited the baronetcy when his brother
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merchant and politician. After making a fortune in the trade with
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Preston's coat of arms in stained glass in Trinity House, London.
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Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cirencester
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off the coast of Valleyfield–in 1805, Sir Robert established a
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and London. He was friends with politicians William Pitt and
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to the government, which used it as one of the seats of the
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Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Cirencester
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there. In this Preston explicitly followed the example of
666:"Preston Island: archaeological researchand excavations"
881:"Papers on Mining in Scotland, 18th and 19th centuries"
978:"Culross - Scottish Court of Session Digital Archive"
932:"Commercial Road, Bridge over Keithin Burn (LB35109)"
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Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Dover
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Ewart, Gordon; Stewart, David; Dunn, Andrew (1996).
334:, Preston won one of two seats in the parliamentary
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Preston worked his way up the ranks, serving on the
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186:(21 April 1740 – 7 May 1834) was a
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702:"Sir Robert Preston and the East India Company"
167:Sir George Preston, 4th Baronet of Valleyfield
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206:from 1792 to 1806. As Baronet of
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727:"Sir Robert Preston (1740-1834)"
37:Sir Robert Preston, portrait by
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936:portal.historicenvironment.scot
184:Sir Robert Preston, 6th Baronet
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957:"Fraser Avenue Phase 1 Design"
883:. Archives Hub. Archived from
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1309:People from Valleyfield, Fife
1000:Places of Worship in Scotland
332:1784 British general election
1211:Parliament of Great Britain
1090:Parliament of Great Britain
626:. Shaun Tyas. p. 223.
465:Sir George Bruce of Carnock
452:–a cluster of rocks in the
319:from 1789 until his death.
210:, he sought to improve his
202:from 1784 to 1790, and for
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1339:Members of Trinity House
911:www.scottish-places.info
352:Cirencester constituency
344:William Pitt the Younger
253:on three voyages to the
198:for the constituency of
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1029:Listen to this article
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402:Later life in Scotland
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1354:British MPs 1796–1800
1349:British MPs 1790–1796
1344:British MPs 1784–1790
1099:Sir John Henniker, Bt
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806:collections.soane.org
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348:1790 general election
336:constituency of Dover
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218:Early life and career
1217:Member of Parliament
1168:Member of Parliament
1110:Member of Parliament
1080:More spoken articles
408:Charles, 5th Baronet
237:His career with the
1241:Michael Hicks-Beach
1233:Michael Hicks-Beach
1186:Michael Hicks-Beach
1129:Hon. James Luttrell
560:Complete Baronetage
503:Old South Sea House
1314:Nobility from Fife
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861:. 5 September 2014
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423:landscape designer
338:for the governing
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317:Greenwich Hospital
239:East India Company
25:Sir Robert Preston
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1280:Succeeded by
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1140:Succeeded by
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834:Dunfermline Press
488:C-listed building
388:Alexander Nasmyth
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114:Valleyfield, Fife
39:William Dickinson
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1359:UK MPs 1801–1802
1273:(of Valleyfield)
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380:Henry Dundas
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1299:1740 births
1221:Cirencester
1181:Lord Aspley
1172:Cirencester
1157:Lord Aspley
706:blogs.bl.uk
492:Dalgety Bay
386:, painters
297:lighthouses
255:East Indies
224:Valleyfield
208:Valleyfield
204:Cirencester
75:Cirencester
1293:Categories
1277:1800–1834
1207:New office
1188:1795–1800
1136:1789–1790
1076:Audio help
1067:2021-10-12
891:17 October
781:HathiTrust
538:References
482:In nearby
382:, diarist
270:, and the
243:Streatham.
228:Perthshire
196:Parliament
192:East India
124:7 May 1834
116:, Scotland
107:1740-04-21
52:Parliament
50:Member of
1183:1792–1794
1131:1784–1788
477:salt pans
435:Torryburn
376:Edinburgh
360:Addington
346:. In the
342:party of
313:Gibraltar
281:Old Jewry
261:Busbridge
87:1792–1806
83:In office
68:1784–1790
64:In office
1078: ·
1010:17 April
941:17 April
916:17 April
865:17 April
839:17 April
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761:17 April
736:17 April
711:17 April
605:17 April
461:colliery
188:Scottish
1269:Baronet
1065: (
1036:minutes
679:: 1–26.
431:Culross
364:Hansard
330:In the
301:England
283:in the
161:Parents
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1230:With:
1178:With:
1126:With:
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564:p. 427
371:London
311:, and
307:, the
273:Coutts
264:, the
135:Spouse
1225:1801–
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960:(PDF)
669:(PDF)
514:Notes
305:Wales
247:Clive
200:Dover
149:(
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1219:for
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893:2008
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813:2021
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