Author Archives: Legen Dary

Riddell Clan History

The surname Riddell, also seen as Riddall, Riddel, and Riddle, sees its origins come from two different sources; one being personal, the other territorial. The personal origin comes from the Ridels who came from Gascony, in south-west France, whereas the territorial surname, de Rydale, came from a wapentake (an old English administrative meeting place) in […]

MacNeil of Colonsay Places & People

Clan MacNeill of Colonsay People Torquil MacNeill (c.1449) MacNeill of Taynish, he was the keeper of Castle Sween in Knapdale, who founded many branches of the family. Rory MacNeill (d. circa 1610) A fifteenth century chief of the clan, and described as a hereditary outlaw. Known as “The Turbulent” or “Ruari the Tartar”, he was […]

Gow Places & People

Clan Gow People Portrait of famous 18th century fiddler Niel Gow by Sir Henry Raeburn Niel Gow (1727-1807) When he was born in Strathbran in Ross & Cromarty, Gow was destined for a life of weaving the tartan, but his passion for playing the fiddle was unstoppable. With the support of both Stewart of Grandtully […]

Clan Cochrane Places & People

Clan Cochrane People Andrew James Cochrane-Johnstone (1767-1833) Before becoming an MP, some of Andrew James Cochrane-Johnstone’s criminal acts included tyranny, extortion, slave trading, gun running and pimping whilst Governor of St Dominica. After his time in Parliament he engineered a gigantic fraud on the Stock Exchange of 1814. Cochrane and his partners in crime bought […]

Masterton Crest & Coats of Arms

Masterton Clan Crest Crest Description: A stag courant bearing on the attires an oaken slip fructed, all Proper Masterton 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 […]

MacNicol Places & People

Clan MacNicol (MacNeacail) People Andrew Douglas Nicol (born 1971) Rugby union player, was the first British player to lift the Heineken Cup as captain of Bath Rugby. He also captained the Scotland national rugby union team from scrum half on the famous occasion in 2000 when Scotland beat England 19-13 at Murrayfield and so prevented […]

Hope Clan History

Hope is probably a native Scots name deriving from ‘Hop’. In middle English this means ‘small valley’. Another suggestion is that it derives from ‘oublon’, which is French for ‘hop’ and could be from the family de H’oublons of Picardy. This borders family, whatever the origin of their name it was among those added to […]