One of the wealthiest Britons during his lifetime, he invested in the construction of several prominent buildings in Britain, including the Pulteney Bridge and other properties in Bath, Somerset, several beachfront residences in Weymouth, Dorset and roads in Scotland.

She inherited William’s substantial fortune and estates close to Bath in Somerset after his death in 1764 and that of his younger brother and heir in 1767.

They decided a bridge needed to be built, and Pulteney turned to his friend and fellow countryman, architect Robert Adam.

When Pulteney first met him, Telford was a young stonemason from the same parish of Westerkirk in Dumfries, who had travelled to London to seek work.

Later, as Governor of the British Fisheries Society, Pulteney appointed Telford to design the world’s then-largest herring fishing port, at Wick in Caithness.

Pulteney was also influential in Telford's 1801 appointment to devise a master plan to improve communications in the Highlands of Scotland, a massive project that was to last 20 years.

Pulteney also took a lively interest in many other engineering projects, including that of Bell Rock lighthouse, supporting a bill in 1803.

In 1804 Pulteney married his second wife, Margaret, widow of Andrew Stuart and daughter of Sir William Stirling.

The marriage did not last long: Pulteney died intestate at Bath House in Piccadilly, London, on 30 May 1805, and was buried at Westminster Abbey.