Simon (Preston) Preston of Preston and Craigmillar Knt (abt. 1510 - abt. 1570)

Born about 1510 in Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh, Edinburghshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Menteith) Menteith Lady Craigmillar — married before 8 Feb 1550 in (Marriage Contract)

Descendants

Died about 1570 at about age 60 in Craigmillar Castle, Edinburghshire, Scotland [uncertain]

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Simon (Preston) Preston of Preston and Craigmillar Knt was a member of Scottish Nobility. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

Simon (Preston) Preston of Preston and Craigmillar Knt is a member of Clan Preston.

Simon Preston was born circa 1514, the son of George Preston of Craigmillar and Isobella Hoppringill. ^[1] He, as Sir Simon Preston of Craigmillar, was Provost of the City of Edinburgh on 25th August 1540, when he had a grant from the baillies and town-clerk thereof, for life, confirmed by letter under the Great Seal on the 27th of the same month. ^[1]

He had a charter to Simon Preston, as son and heir-apparent of George Preston of Preston, and to Jonet Betoun, his [Simon's] wife, of the lands of Balgavy in Forfarshire; and to himself, of the baronies of Craigmillar and Prestoun, and lands of Aldinstoun, Langhald, and Swynehope; and to Elizabeth (sic) Hopprigill, wife of the said George Prestoun, for her life, of the town of Carkettill on 5th June 1543.^[1] He granted a charter to Elizabeth Menteith, daughter of the deceased William Menteith of Kerse, in her virginity, for all the days of her life [i.e: life-rent], of the barony of Prestoun, on 8th February 1550, in implementation of the marriage contract entered into betwixt him on the one part, and Elisabeth Livingstone, relict of the said William Menteith, and Elizabeth her daughter, on the other part.^[1]

He was again Provost of Edinburgh from 1565 to 1568. He was member of the Privy Council of Scotland during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots and a close friend of the Queen.

Queen Mary awarded Simon captain of Dunbar Castle. His loyalty to Queen Mary wavered before her final battle in Scotland at Langside, and on 8 May 1568 he signed a bond with William Kirkcaldy of Grange to defend James VI of Scotland and Regent Moray against her.

He married twice, as noted above:^[1] Note that Wikipedia and DNB has the order of the marriages reversed. The order provided here, sourced to Douglas, is believed correct as:

1. He had a Charter, which included Jonet Betoun, stated as his wife, on 5 June 1543.
2. He granted a charter to Elisabeth Menteith, "daughter of the deceased William Menteith of Kerse" where she is stated to be "in her virginity" on 8 Feb 1550.

Married first, to Jonet Betoun, according to Macfarlane's Genealogical Collections. In the same Collection, Jonet is stated to be the daughter of John Betoun of Creich. She is said to have been firstly the wife of the Laird of Cranstoun, then the Laird of Craigmillar (Preston) and then, after a divorce, Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch. ^[1] Jonet and Simon had a daughter:

• Elisabeth Preston.

Married secondly, to Elisabeth Menteith, daughter of William Menteith of Kerse, Stirlingshire, with whom he had a son: ^[2]

• David Preston.

Extract from a document by Denys Pringle, Principal Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Historic Scotland, Edinburgh HMSO (20th century)

Sir Simon Preston IV was to have a long and eventful career as laird of Craigmillar. His connections with the nearby city of Edinburgh were also close. In 1538-43 and 1544-45 he served as Provost, following a family precedent already established by his forebears Sir Henry Preston in 1434-39 and James Preston in 1525. (First mention of James Preston and he is not shown in the lineage chart.) In addition to Craigmillar, Sir Simon also possessed a town house opposite the town cross, on the site now occupied by the City Chambers (formerly the Royal Exchange.)

The first major event to affect Craigmillar under Sir Simon Preston IV was an English invasion of Scotland. In May 1544, following the Scots' repudiation of an agreement made earlier at Greenwich to form an alliance between Scotland and England by marrying the young Queen Mary to Prince Edward, the son and heir of King Henry VIII, the earl of Hertford landed with an army in Leith with a view to persuading the Scots to change their minds. An anonymous history of the period tells us that the army 'past to Craigmillar, quhilk was haistilie gevin to thame, promesand to keip the samyne without skaith [damage]: quhilk promes thai break, and brunt and destroyit the said hous'. A rather different interpretation of the apparent ease with which the English took the castle, however, is given by the Bishop John Lesley, who casts the city's provost in the unflattering role of a collaborator. Lesley relates that the merchants of Edinburgh had taken most of their valuables to Craigmillar for safe keeping: but that this, 'not without froaud of the keparis, as wes reported, wes betrayed to the Inglishmen for a parte of the bowtaine [booty] and spoill thairof'. If the accusation was true, it could have done Sir Simon little good, for he was himself taken prisoner and made to walk as far as London before being released.

In 1549, Sir Simon Preston IV was once more in Edinburgh, when he and his second wife Elizabeth Menteith, were granted a charter for the barony of Preston. A stone panel bearing the Preston coat-of-arms and the date 1549 which formerly surmounted the outer main gate of Craigmillar indicates that Sir Simon did not delay in making food the damage which the castle had suffered five years before. The construction of this period seems to have included the rebuilding of the east and south-east ranges around the inner court, and building (or rebuilding) of a strong outer wall around the castle, defended by rounded towers pierced by wide-mouthed gun-ports.

In the years following the return of Mary Queen of Scots from France, in August 1561, Sir Simon Preston iv was to show himself to be one of the queen's most loyal supporters. In 1562, he won Mary's gratitude when, as governor of Dunbar Castle, he failed to carry out a sentence of execution passed on the rebel Earl of Huntly. In October of 1562, Mary nominated him once more for the position of Provost of Edinburgh, but it was not until August 1565 that the burgh council would agree to accept him. He held the post until 1568, and between 1565 and 1567 also served as a privy councillor.

In September 1563, Mary spent a week at Craigmillar Castle as a guest of Sir Simon Preston. While there she received Thomas Randolph, the ambassador of Queen Elizabeth I, who warned her that if she wished to remain on friendly terms with England she should find herself an acceptable husband. Mary's eventual choice was the Catholic, Henry, Earl of Darnley, whom she married on 29 July 1565. Darnley was not liked by Mary or her supporters and in December 1566, she spent some time with a group of her advisors in a meeting at Craigmillar making the fateful decision that would seal the fate of her unwanted husband. The pact was subsequently known as the Craigmillar Bond. Conspirators included the Earls of Argyll, Huntly and Bothwell. Early in 1567 Darnley returned to Edinburgh from Glasgow. Mary suggested they spend some time at Craigmillar but he elected to stay at his own town house, Kirk o'Fields, just next to the town wall. On the night of Feb. 9/10, 1567, the house was blown apart by an explosion. The next day when Darnleys body was found it was discovered he had been strangled.

Sir Simon Preston's son David succeeded him as laird of Craigmillar in June 1569.

There is no evidence as to where he was born or died. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Preston_of_Craigmillar

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Sir Robert Douglas's The Peerage of Scotland (revised by John P. Wood), Edinburgh, 1813, vol. 1, p.415.
2. ↑ Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 46 - Simon Preston

See also:

• The peerage of Scotland : containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, from their origin to the present generation. Sir Robert Douglas, Bt. Note some parts available at archive.org. However the relevant piece, Volume 1, page 415 for Preston of Craigmillar has not yet been located at that source. It is available in most public libraries and elements extracted for this profile.
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 46 - Simon Preston; by Thomas Finlayson Henderson
• Wikipedia for Simon Preston of Craigmillar
• The Hepburn Family, Scotland to Australia, with many interrelated branches including Marendaz, Dodd, Baker, Bath, Robertson, Reddie and many more, including ancient and royal links]. Date: 18 MAY 2008 Author: Ross Hepburn; saved to Wayback Machine 10 Mar 2023