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George
Heriot was the eldest son of a goldsmith of the same name, who was
descended from the Heriots of Traboun, a  family
of some antiquity in East Lothian. The date and place of the Founder's
birth are not accurately known but Heriot is believed to have been
born in Edinburgh in June 1563. Goldsmiths were then, and for a long
period, the principal money lenders in Scotland and ranked among the
wealthy citizens of Edinburgh.
The
young George Heriot learned his father's trade and established his
own business in a "buith" near St. Giles Cathedral. He was admitted
as a member of the Incorporation of Goldsmiths in 1588 and in 1597
was appointed by James VI Goldsmith to his Queen, Anne of Denmark.
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James
VI
(artist unknown)
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Portraits
courtesy of Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
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Anne
of Denmark
(attributed to Adrian Vanson)
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In April 1601 he was made Jeweller and Goldsmith
to James VI, with a right to all the profits and emoluments of that
lucrative office.  During
this time of his life he laid the foundation of a fortune such as
few Scotsmen attained in that age.
After the accession in 1603 of James to the English
throne, Heriot followed the Court to London, where he resided permanently
afterwards. As Jeweller and Goldsmith at the Court of St James, he
also attained eminence as a landowner and man of considerable substance.
Heriot
died childless in London on 12th February 1624 and was buried in St.
Martin-in-the-Fields. After payment of considerable private legacies
of about £6,826, he bequeathed the remainder of his estate for the
purpose of founding in his native city a hospital for the upbringing
and education of "puire fatherless bairnes, friemenes sones of that
Toune of Edinburgh". His bequest amounted to some £23,625 10s 3 1/2d
(Sterling) and represented a small fortune in those days.
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