Seton Clan History

It is generally thought that the name of Seton derives from the village of Sai, near Exmes in Normandy. Another school of thought, however, argues that the clan derives its name from the ‘sea town’ of Tranent, near Edinburgh.

The family fortunes of the Seton family were secured at an early stage by marriage into the family of Robert the Bruce. However in the nineteenth century the family luck seemed to run out, when all the sons of the Seton line were killed in battle. The estates and lands of the family were retained through the female side of the line.

The Setons were great supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots and it was to Lord Seton that she turned when in trouble. In fact, the Seton clan played a large part in her escape from imprisonment in Lochleven Castle. Their loyalty to Mary is recorded by the inclusion of Lord Seton’s wife Mary in the song of ‘The Queen’s Maries’.

It was around this time that the Setons also completed work on the building of their own family seat the magnificent Palace of Seton. The Seton family has always been well served by its own historians, with the publication of ‘A History of the Family of Seton during Eight Centuries’.