after an early career in the indian civil service in bengal, nisbet settled at southbroom house near devizes, wiltshire. in his will, proved in 1882, he left the large fortune of £52,000, including property at dinapore, india, to his family, £50 to be spent on coals and blankets for the poor of southbroom, and £1 to each resident of the almshouses near the gates of his house.