the house was built for the yule family. sir david yule (1858–1928) was a scottish entrepreneur who went into the family business, which was trade with india, then the "jewel in the crown" of the british empire. he was involved with many additional businesses. the "oxford dictionary of national biography" judged him "arguably the most important businessman in india" and quoted his obituary in "the times" as "one of the wealthiest men, if not the wealthiest man, in the country".