The lands by Borthwick Water in Roxburghshire appear to have been the origin of the Borthwick name but the family that took it are one of the oldest in Scotland. Some suggest that they may have come to Britain with the Roman Legions, others that they may have been originally Hungarian. The more accepted assertion […]
Clan Strachan Places Thornton Castle, nr Laurencekirk. Passed to the Strachan’s in 1309 Claypotts Castle, nr Dundee. Built by the Strachan’s, later passed to the Grahams. Clan Strachan People Sir Richard John Strachan, 6th Baronet GCB (1760 – 1828) British officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to […]
MacBain / MacBean Clan Crest: Crest Description: A grey demi-cat-a-mountain salient, on his sinister foreleg a Highland targe Gules MacBean – MacBain Coats of Arms: A note on Coats of Arms: Under Scottish heraldic law a coat of arms is awarded to an individual (with the exception of civic or corporate arms) . There is […]
Coming Soon
The name Gordon is territorial and the family who took the name are believed to have been of Anglo-Norman descent, moving from the Borders to Aberdeenshire. The wild boar’s head appears on the Gordon arms because, legend says, the first Gordon saved a Scottish king from an attacking boar. The monks of St Mary at […]
Garden Clan Crest Crest Description: Two dexter hands conjoined, Proper, upholding a cross crosslet fitchee Or Garden Coats of Arms: A note on Coats of Arms: Under Scottish heraldic law a coat of arms is awarded to an individual (with the exception of civic or corporate arms) . There is no such thing as a […]
The name can also be found as Binnie and Binney, and originates in the parish of Uphall, West Lothian, where the Barony of Binning was located. William de Binnin who was prior of Newbattle was promoted to Crail in 1243. John de Bynning was infeoffed in some lands in Edinburgh which had been forfeited by […]
Princess Marjorie, the only daughter of King Robert the Bruce, married Walter Stewart, High Steward of Scotland, in 1316. She was thus the mother of the first of the royal Stewarts, and received as part of her marriage settlement lands in Renfrewshire which became known as Terre de Marjorie, later Marjoribanks. The name is pronounced […]
Clan Davidson People John Davidson (1857-1909) Among John Davidson’s varied occupations were periods as a lab worker in a sugar factory, a teacher and a journalist, all while he was writing, creating four plays between 1885 and 1890. With his move to London in 1888 he became a member of the Rhymer’s Club, writing for […]
Clan Bell People Alexander Graham Bell Born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Bell is best known for his invention of the telephone however he was a remarkable character and brilliant inventor who came up with many inventions such as an air-cooling system, a way of desalinating sea-water and a sorting machine for punch-coded census […]
