Sir William Dick of Braid (1580–1655) was a 17th-century Scottish landowner, banker and merchant who served as

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

from 1638 to 1640. His fortunes took him from being "the richest man in Scotland" in 1650 to his death as a pauper a few years later.

Life

He was born in 1580 at Braid Castle, then south-west of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

(now enveloped by the city) close to what is now

Hermitage of Braid The Hermitage of Braid is an area between the Braid Hills and Blackford Hill. The Braid Burn runs through it. It comprises part of the Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill local nature reserve, Local Nature Reserve. History The Braid estate wa ...

. He was the son of John Dick and his wife, Margaret Stewart. John Dick had much land in

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

and had also assembled much wealth trading with

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

.ODNB: William Dick William had an income of £3000 per annum from farm rentals in Orkney. As a banker in 1617 he loaned £66,666 to the treasurer-depute

Gideon Murray Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank (died 1621), was a Scottish courtier and landowner, who served as Treasurer-Depute of Scotland. Family Gideon Murray was the third son of Sir Andrew Murray of Black Barony (died 1572), and Grisel Beaton, a daughter o ...

for the visit of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

to Scotland, indicating his enormous wealth and power. In 1639 he loaned the Covenanting Army under James Graham, Marquess of Montrose a staggering £200,000 (£24 million in current terms). He had an Edinburgh townhouse on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

between Byers Close and Advocates Close, immediately opposite

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 of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alteratio ...

. Much of this building (which he built in 1630) still survives (behind a new office on Advocates Close) and is known by the name of an earlier occupier of the site as

Adam Bothwell Adam Bothwell, Lord of Session (c.1527, Edinburgh – 1593, Edinburgh), was a Scottish clergyman, judge, and politician. Overview Adam Bothwell served as Bishop of Orkney (1559), Commendator of Holyrood House (1570), Extraordinary Lord of Sessi ...

's House. Dick would have had offices, his "bank", here at 369 High Street. An interior from around 1630 may have been added by Dick as it includes a built in safe within the timber panelling. He acquired this building from

John Byres of Coates Sir John Byres of Coates (1569–1629) was a 16th/17th century Scottish banker and merchant who served as Treasurer and Old Provost for Edinburgh Town Council. Old Provost is the equivalent of Deputy Provost. Byers Close on the Royal Mi ...

, also a banker. He had a large warehouse in the

Luckenbooths The Luckenbooths were a range of tenements which formerly stood immediately to the north of St Giles' Cathedral, St. Giles' Kirk in the Royal Mile#High Street, High Street of Edinburgh from the reign of James II of Scotland, King James II in the ...

close to his house on Byers Close, next to

. In 1638 he succeeded John Hay of Lands as Provost of Edinburgh. He was succeeded in turn in 1640 by Alexander Clerk of Pittencrieff. He was knighted in 1641 by

King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after h ...

, to whom he had loaned at least £20,000. In 1641 he gave 100,000 Scots merks to the Covenanter Army to enable it to continue as a force, and additionally paid for 10,000 soldiers in the Scots army to enforce the Protestant presence in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

. In 1642 he leased the Edinburgh customs house (near the Netherbow) at a cost of 202,000 merks per annum. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

his Royalist sympathies came home to roost when Cromwell's troops camped at the Braid and demanded compensation for his loyalist support. He was forced to pay £65,000 representing the bulk of his wealth He afterwards went to London to try to recover this money. His efforts instead ended with his being heavily fined by the Cromwellian authorities. He died on 19 December 1655. Although some records state he died in prison, he had been confined in private lodgings in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. A collection was required to pay for his funeral and his grave had no stone memorial and is lost. Following his death his Edinburgh property was sold to

John Keith, 1st Earl of Kintore Sir John Keith, 1st Earl of Kintore PC (Scot) ( – 12 April 1715), was a Scottish nobleman. Early life He was the fourth son of nine surviving children born to William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal, and Lady Mary Erskine. Among his siblings were ...

. The Royal Mile house was misidentified as Adam Bothwell's house around 1870 during the renewal of interest in "romantic history" by Victorian writers and is a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. All that survives of Braid Castle is the

doocot A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pig ...

and remnant boundary walls and foundations amongst the trees in the Braid Woods. "Provost Dick" is mentioned in

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's novel ''

The Heart of Midlothian ''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' is the seventh of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of ''Tales of My Landlord, 2nd series'', and the author was given as "Jedediah Clei ...

''.

Family

He married Elizabeth Morrison. Their children included: * John Dick of Braid (1610-1642), father of William Dick of Braid and John Dick (died 1681), who settled as a merchant in London * Alexander Dick of Heugh (1618-1663), was the ancestor of the Dick-Cunyngham baronets and the Dicks of

Prestonfield Prestonfield may refer to the one of following: * Prestonfield, Edinburgh, an area of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland *Prestonfield, Linlithgow, a football stadium in Linlithgow, Scotland, home of Linlithgow Rose F.C. See also *Prestonfield House ...

, including James Dick of Prestonfield, Lord Provost 1679/81 . * Andrew Dick of Craig House, who married (1) Christina Morrison, (2) Jean Leslie, a daughter of Sir John Leslie of Newton * William Dick, 1st Baron of Grange, who married Janet McMath, widow of Thomas Bannatine. Their children included William Dick, 2nd Baron of Grange. * Lewis Dick * Elizabeth Dick * Janet Dick * Katherine Dick married

William Nisbet of Dean Sir William Nisbet of Dean (c. 1570 – c. 1630) was a 16th/17th century Scottish merchant who twice served as Provost of Edinburgh from 1616 to 1619 and 1622 to 1623. Life He was the son of Henry Nisbet of Dean, Provost of Edinburgh in 159 ...

Bibliography

Sir William Dick of Braid - imprisonment

*The Lamentable Estate and Distressed Case of Sir William Dick, published in 1657, contains the petition of his family and other papers, the originals of which are included in the Lauderdale Papers, Addit. MS. 23113. His case is set forth in verse as well as in prose, and is pathetically illustrated by three copperplates, one representing him on horseback superintending the unloading of one of his rich argosies, the second as fettered in prison, and the third as lying in his coffin surrounded by disconsolate friends who do not know how to dispose of the body. The tract, of which there is a copy in the British Museum, is much valued by collectors, and has been sold for 52l. 10s. *Acts of the Parliament of Scotland *Balfour's Annals *Spalding's Memorials *Gordon's Scots Affairs *State Papers, Dom. Ser. 1652-3 *Douglas's Baronage of Scotland, i. 269-70 *Notes and Queries, 3rd ser. vi. 457.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, William 1580 births 1655 deaths 17th-century Scottish merchants Scottish bankers Lord provosts of Edinburgh Covenanters