Home / Scottish Clans - Histories, Tartans Crests and much more / Clan Balfour (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

Clan Balfour (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

By ScotsTee Shop

Balfour

Clan Crest: A dexter arm in armour erect, the hand, bent, holding a baton Gules tipped

Clan Motto: Fordward (Forward)

Origin of Name: Locational name derived from the Gaelic "bail(e)" meaning "village" plus "puir", "pasture or grass" in any of several Highland locations. The second element is similar to the Welsh "pawr," which means "pasture."

Clan Badge: A dexter arm in armour erect, the hand, bent, holding a baton Gules tipped

Lands: Whittingehame East Lothian, Kinross and Glenrothes, Fife

Region: Lowlands

Historic Seat: Burleigh Castle, Kinross

Clan Chief: None, armigerous clan

⇨ View All Balfour Tartan Products

Clan Balfour History

The Balfour clan derives its name from the barony of the same name, which is located near the confluence of the rivers Ore and Leven in Fife, in the parish of Markinch, and was previously owned by a family who were long hereditary sheriffs of Fife. Balfour castle was built on their ancient holdings in the Orr valley, a tributary of the Leven, near their confluence. The original name, Bal-orr, is used more frequently by older manuscript writers, and is said to be derived from the Gaelic Bal foidh or, the town at the foot of the Or (the dh in foidh is silent), or Baile Fuar, the cold place/town.

The Balfour family has thirteen landed proprietors in the county of the same name: the Balfours of Burleigh, Fernie, Dunbog, Denmylne, Grange, Forret, Randerston, Radernie, Northhank, Balbirnie, Halbeath, Lawlethan, and Banktown, Torry, and Boghall. Kinloch is also a landed property of the Balfours. Sibbald writes in his Memoria Balfouriana that the Balfour family is divided into several branches, the most important of which are those of Balgarvie, Mountwhanney, Denmylne, Ballovy, Carriston, and Kirkton.

MUNQUHANNY AND THE BALFOURS OF STRATHOR

During Duncan I's reign (1034-1040), Siward, Earl of Northumbria, came north from Northumbria. Siward had a son named Osulf, and Osulf had a son named Siward II, who was given the valley of Orr, that is, Strathor and Maev (the Isle of May), by King Edgar in 1097 in exchange for the head of Ottar, the Dane. The Balfours are said to be Siward's descendants. Siwards' son Octred, who witnessed a charter of David the First in 1141, was most likely the founder of the Castle, which was named after him.

The Balfours of Monquhanny owned the Isles of May for many generations, and its location guarding the entrance to the Firth of Forth probably inspired the family motto "Fordward" (in Saxon "Forthward"). Since then, the otter's head has appeared in the Arms of all Siwarth's legitimate descendants. Siwarth II almost certainly adopted the original coat of arms. When the Balfours of Denmylne sold their estate to Major General George Scott in 1773, the Isle of May may have been sold at the same time. Later, in 1840, when Henrietta Scott, the Duke of Portland's daughter and wife, sold Denmylne, she also sold the Isle of May around the same time.

Octred's son, Sir Michael de Balfour (Balfor), obtained a charter from William the Lion in 1196, dated at Forfar.

Sir lngelramus de Balfour, sheriff of Fife, was Michael's son. In 1229, The name first appears on an assize record in 1304 with John de Balfure. During Alexander II's reign, he witnessed a charter of confirmation for the monastery of Aberbrothock, as well as a mortification to them by Philip de Moubray, 'De uno plenario tofto in Innerkeithing. Sir lngelramus de Balfour may have been Henry's father, as it appears that Sir lngelramus de Balfour was Michael's son. On the death of his son, Sir Michael de Balfour, Octred divided his estate between his grandsons, Upper Strath-Orr going to Sir Michael de Balfor and Lower Strath-Orr going to Sir William de Balfor.

Sir William was the Sheriff of Fife at the time of Sir Alexander Seton's Charter. His grandfather Octred gave him Balfour Castle and the lower part of the Strath-Orr, which he passed on to his son. Sir William was followed by a line of Balfours.

Sir Michael in Upper Strath-Orr, also Sheriff of Fife, sat as a Baron of Parliament with David de Balfour at Ayr on 6 April 1315; their seals are appended to the act of that parliament for settling the crown. Sir Michael died in 1344, and his son John took his place. He may have had another son, Adam, who married the granddaughter of Macduff, brother of Colbane, earl of Fife, and acquired the lands of Pittencrieff with her. In 1346, he died of wounds received during the Battle of Durham and was buried in Melrose Abbey.

In 1375, his son Sir John died without issue. His office reverted to the Crown, and his sister and heiress, Janet, was given in marriage to Sir Robert de Betun as a ward of the Crown. As the 'familiaris regis Roberti,' he is known. The current family of Bethunes of Balfour is descended from this marriage. The proprietors of Balfour are descended from them, as are several other Fife heritors of the name Bethune, such as the Bethunes of Bandon, Criech, Tarvet, Blebo, Clatto, Craigfudie, and Kingask. Among the most notable Bethunes of Balfour were James Bethune, archbishop of Glasgow and chancellor of Scotland, and his nephew, Cardinal David Bethune 1494-1546, who was educated at St Andrews and Glasgow universities. He mediated King James V's (1512-1542) marriages with the French court. Beaton served in the Scottish Parliament as Abbot of Arbroath beginning in 1525. He was the last Archbishop of St. Andrews, having been appointed in 1539. Beaton was assassinated by Protestant reformers in the same year that John Knox (c.1513-72) executed George Wishart (1513-46). David Balfour of Balbathy and New Grange (3rd son of Sir Andrew Balfour of Munquhanny) was one of Cardinal Bethune's murderers. James Bethune, archbishop of Glasgow, is the cardinal's nephew. Original portraits of Cardinal Bethune and Mary Bethune, one of Mary Queen of Scots' four Maries, were found in the ruined house of Balfour.

Mary Bethune was born in the 16th century at Creich Castle.

Following the death of Sir William de Balfor's male heirs, the Chiefship of the Balfours of Strath-orr passed to his brother's representatives. The Barony was passed down through his male heirs.

Sir Michael de Balfour of Strathor, Knight, was raised by his cousin Duncan 12th Earl of Fife, who gave him the valuable lands of Mountwhanney/ Munquhanny in exchange for the poorer property of Pittencrieff in 1353. On the death of his kinsman Sir John de Balfour of that Ilk, he became male representative and Chief of the family, and as such assumed the Arms of that family without a difference, as they are quartered by Betun of Balfour on marriage with the heiress, Janet. The countess Isabella, daughter of Earl Duncan, bestowed many grants of land upon her "cousin" Sir Michael, who should have succeeded as her nearest heir at her death without issue, but the regent Albany, her second husband's brother, obtained the earldom in virtue of a disposition in his favor by the countess. Sir Michael died in the year 1385.

His eldest son, Michael Balfour 1st of Mountwhanney and Strathor, had a son, Sir Lawrence of Strathor and Mountwhanney, who had three sons: George, his heir; John of Balgarvie, progenitor, through his son James, of the Balfours of Denmylne, Forret, Randerston, Torry and Boghall, Kinloch, and David Balfour of Carraldstone or Carriston. The latter family ended with an heiress, Isabel Balfour, marrying a younger son of the fourth Lord Seton, ancestor of the Setons of Carriston.

In 1451, James Balfour, son of Sir John Balfour of Balgarvy, obtained from King James the Second the lands of Denmylne, in the parish of Abdie and county of Fife, which had previously belonged to the earls of Fife and had fallen to the crown at the forfeiture of Murdoch, Duke of Albany. As appears from a charter granted by James the Third in favour of John Balfour his son, who married Christian Sibbald, daughter of Peter Sibbald of Rankeillor, and fell with his sovereign, James the Fourth, at the battle of Flodden in 1513, this James Balfour was slain at the siege of Roxburgh, soon after the death of James the Second, in 1460. Patrick, his son, was the father of Alexander Balfour, whose son, Sir Michael Balfour, was knighted at Holyroodhouse on March 26, 1630, by George Viscount Dupplin, chancellor of Scotland, under a special warrant from Charles the First, and in the same year that his son Sir James was knighted. Sir Michael was Charles the First's comptroller of the household, and he was known for both his military bravery and his civil prudence. He had five sons and nine daughters by his wife, Jane, daughter of James Durham of Pitkerrow, seven of whom were honorably married.

Clan Balfour Places & People

People of Clan Balfour

1st Earl of Balfour Arthur James Balfour (25 July 1848 – 19 March 1930)

From 1902 to 1905, Arthur Balfour was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As Foreign Secretary in Lloyd George's cabinet, he issued the Balfour Declaration on behalf of the cabinet in 1917. From 1902 to 1905, James Arthur Balfour served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Sir James Balfour (1600-1657) was a historian and the Lord Lyon King-of-Arms.

Sir Michael Balfour of Denmilne, Fife, and Joanna Durham were the parents of Sir James, 1st Baronet of Denmilne and Kinnaird.

Balfour knew both Sir William Segar and William Dugdale, to whose Monasticon he contributed. King Charles I knighted him in 1630, made him Lord Lyon King of Arms the same year, and made him baronet of Kinnaird in 1633. Oliver Cromwell arbitrarily removed him from his position as Lord Lyon, and he died in 1657.

Some of his numerous works are preserved in Edinburgh's Advocates' Library, along with his correspondence, from which James Haig published Balfour's Annales of Scotland in four volumes (1824–1825). In order to publish the papers, James Maidment extracted them from the collection.

Clan Balfour Locations

Denmylne Castle, located near Newburgh in Fife, is a late-medieval tower house. Between 1452 and 1710, the Balfours owned the lands on which the castle was built. In 1460, James Balfour of Denmylne was killed during the siege of Roxburgh. His son, John Balfour, was killed in the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Much of the castle is still standing, but it is in ruins.

Clan Balfour Tartans

Balfour is not a stock woven tartan, so it must be done as a custom weave. Perthshire or Fife District tartans would be the most appropriate.

Balfour Contemporary

—————————————————————————

Blue Balfour

—————————————————————————

Perthshire County Council

—————————————————————————

District of Fife

Clan Balfour Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Balfour Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

An erect dexter arm in armour, the hand bent, holding a baton tipped in gules

Coats of Arms of Clan Balfour

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). There are no such things as "family coats of arms." Personal weapons are depicted below (with the above exceptions). Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.