The Riddell Collection of Wax Seals:
Seal Life Stories: the remarkable careers of 23 individuals from the Riddell Collection of Wax Seals
8: “Floating bob”: Sir robert preston of valleyfield (1740-1834)
Sir Robert Preston of Valleyfield (“Floating Bob” by Johann Zoffany
Robert Preston (1740-1834) was born in Scotland, the fifth son of Sir George Preston of Valleyfield and his wife Anne at Valleyfield, Fife.
He joined the East India Company in 1758, being promoted to Commander of the Company by 1768. After returning to London in 1777, he went into business with Charles Foulis managing ships for the EEC before taking over the management of several ships personally. Robert went on to become an insurance broker, prospering financially, and was made Deputy Master of Trinity House (the authority overseeing lighthouses in England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and Gibraltar) in 1795.
Well connected in the political and artistic circles, he was friends with William Pitt, Henry Dundas, James Boswell, Alexander Nasmyth, J. M. W. Turner, and Sir Walter Scott.
During his political career, he won one of two seats in the parliamentary constituency of Dover in 1784, retiring in 1804.
Robert succeeded to the Valleyfield Baronetcy in 1800, at which point he sold his house in Downing Street and returned to Valleyfield House, where he made significant improvements to the estate.
In his later years, Robert joined the early industrialists, establishing a coalmine on tidal land on the Valleyfield estate. Various philanthropic works followed, such as Preston Crescent, a row of houses for retired sea captains.
Robert had no children by his wife Elizabeth Brown, and the Baronetcy passed to his cousin, also named Sir Robert Preston.