Known as "the rich Lord" he built the bridge in front of Arbuthnott House, Kincardineshire.

He served in the 7th Dragoon Guards (Princess Royal's) and the 52nd Regiment of Foot, reaching the rank of Captain.

[1] He had long service in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer between 1818 and 1820, and between 1821 and 1847.

He fell from a horse in 1829 and suffered a severe head injury.

As a consequence in 1848 he was prosecuted for fraud, forgery and uttering and, although the family paid his debts, the Viscount left Scotland, never to return; his heir ran the estate from 1850.