author
William Pulteney
1729–1805
A wealthy Scottish lawyer and politician, he helped shape Georgian Bath and gave his name to its famous Pulteney Bridge. His life links Parliament, property, and one of the grandest urban building projects of the late 1700s.
1 Audiobook
A Short View of the Laws Now Subsisting with Respect to the Powers of the East India Company To Borrow Money under their Seal, and to Incur Debts in the Course of their Trade, by the Purchase of Goods on Credit, and by Freighting Ships or other Mercantile Transactions
by William Pulteney, John Stewart
About the author
Born William Johnstone in October 1729, he was a Scottish advocate, landowner, and Whig politician who later became known as Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet. He sat in the House of Commons from 1768 until his death in 1805, building a reputation not just in politics but also through the extraordinary fortune connected with the Pulteney family.
After marrying Frances Pulteney in 1760, he adopted the Pulteney surname in 1767 when her inheritance brought major estates and wealth into the family. He became one of the richest men in Britain and is especially remembered for investing in the development of Bath, including the bridge and surrounding scheme that still carry the Pulteney name.
He died on May 30, 1805. Today he is remembered less for speeches than for the lasting mark he left on the landscape of Bath and for the way his career joined law, politics, and large-scale urban development.