Preston, Richard Graham, Viscount, 1648-1695

Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston (1648-1695), was a British politician and diplomat. In 1675, he was elected MP for Cockermouth, Cumberland. In 1682 he became envoy extraordinary to the court of France. Preston returned to England at the accession of James II. In 1685 he was again elected MP for Cumberland; sworn a member of the privy council; and became chancellor to the queen-dowager. In 1687 he was made Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland and Westmoreland. In 1688 he became Lord President of the Council, and in 1689 James II created him Viscount Preston, of Netherby in the County of Cumberland and Baron Liddall of Esk, in the Peerage of England. After the accession of William and Mary, he was reported to be agitating for James II's restoration, and was arrested and committed to the Tower, though he was released several months later. However, in 1691 Preston, Major Edmund Elliott, and John Ashton were seized with a message from the leading protestant Jacobites. Preston was sent to the Tower and indicted for high treason. He was able to obtain a pardon, however, in exchange for naming his accomplices and other persons friendly to King James II. He retired to Nunnington Hall in Yorkshire, where he died in 1695.