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

Clan Borthwick (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

By ScotsTee Shop

Borthwick

Clan Crest: Crest Description: A Moor’s head couped, Proper, wreathed Argent and Sable

Clan Motto: Qui Conducit (He who leads)

Origin of Name: Territorial, Roxburghshire

Region: Lowlands

Historic Seat: Borthwick Castle, Midlothian

Clan Chief: The Rt. Hon Lord Borthwick

⇨ View All Borthwick Tartan Products

Clan Borthwick History

The lands near Borthwick Water in Roxburghshire appear to be the origin of the Borthwick name, but the family who adopted it is one of Scotland's oldest. Some believe they came to Britain with the Roman Legions, while others believe they were originally Hungarian. According to popular belief, they arrived in Scotland around 1067 with the Saxon Edgar the Aetheling and his sister, Margaret, who married Malcolm Canmore in 1071. Margaret rose to become Queen, and then Saint Margaret.

Sir William Borthwick accompanied Lord James Douglas on his crusade to the Holy Land with Robert the Bruce's heart in 1330. After they were attacked by the Moors in Spain, Borthwick is said to have beheaded their leader, and a moor's head still serves as the crest as a reminder of the event.

The family quickly rose to prominence in Scotland. Sir William Borthwick obtained a charter confirming his possession of the lands in Midlothian and the Borders around 1410.

In 1425, the First Lord Borthwick was sent to England with other nobles as substitute hostages for James I of Scotland's ransom. He built one of Scotland's most impressive fortified dwellings, which is still owned by the Borthwick family. The first Lord Borthwick died around 1458, and his tomb is in Borthwick's old church.

William, 4th Lord Borthwick, was killed alongside James IV in the Battle of Flodden in 1513. His son William succeeded him and was given command of Stirling Castle as well as responsibility for the safety of the infant James V.

Lord John Borthwick opposed the Scottish Reformation and backed Mary of Guise, Mary, Queen of Scots' mother. Despite his strong clerical values, he was excommunicated for his views, and a court officer, William Langlands, was dispatched to serve the letters of excommunication on the curate of Borthwick. He was apprehended by Borthwick's servants, who threw him into the mill dam and forced him to eat the letters (which had been soaked in wine to make them more palatable). He was then sent packing with a warning that any future communications would 'a' gang the same gait'.

The Borthwicks continued to support the monarchy when Mary Queen of Scots sought refuge at the castle and fled, disguised as a pageboy, when opposition forces approached. They also backed the royalists during the civil war, and after the battle of Dunbar in 1650, the roundheads besieged Borthwick Castle. Lord Borthwick accepted Cromwell's terms and was allowed to leave with his family. However, the male line failed after this, and the title was lost. It was reclaimed in 1672 by Henry Borthwick of Neathorn, who also died without an heir. After many contested claims, the title was re-established in 1986 when Major John Borthwick of Crookston was recognized as Borthwick of that Ilk by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms. When he died in December 1996, his son, John, took over the title and chiefship.

Clan Borthwick Places & People

Clan Borthwick Individuals

Sir Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk (1830-1908)

Conservative British journalist who later owned the Morning Post (which merged with The Daily Telegraph in 1937).

Algernon Borthwick, the Post's editor's son, was sent to King's College School before beginning his career as the paper's Paris correspondent in 1852. When his father died, he took over as editor and became proprietor in 1876. On 5 April 1870, he married Alice Beatrice Lister (d. 1898); they had two children, Lilias Margaret Frances Borthwick (1871-1965) and Oliver Borthwick (1873-1905).

He was elected MP for South Kensington in 1885 and became an ally of Lord Randolph Churchill. He was known as a conservative voice in British politics at the time.

He was knighted in 1880 and made Baron Glenesk in 1895. Glenesk's death made the title extinct; he was buried in the East Finchley Cemetery.

Clan Borthwick Locations

Borthwick Castle was built in 1430 by Sir William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick, with permission from King James I. It is regarded as one of the best preserved and largest medieval castles still standing in Scotland. It is located near the town of Borthwick, approximately 12 miles south-east of Edinburgh.

Clan Borthwick's ancestral seat is the castle.

Clan Borthwick Tartans

According to the Clan, the Borthwick tartan has been worn in its current form since the 1950s.

Threadcount R/16 K8 N40 K56 N40 K8 R40 G/8

Borthwick

--------------------------------------------------

Major John Henry Stuart Borthwick (later to become Lord Borthwick in 1986) commissioned Lochcarron to create a dress version of the tartan for special occasions and female members of the clan.

Threadcount DG/28 K4 R32 K8 W28 K8 W/16

Borthwick Gown

Clan Borthwick Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Borthwick Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Proper, a Moor's head couped, wreathed Argent and Sable

Coats of Arms of Clan Borthwick

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). A 'family coat of arms' does not exist. With the exceptions noted above, the arms depicted below are personal arms. Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.