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Clan Fletcher (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Fletcher

Clan Crest: Two naked arms shooting an arrow out of a bow, Sable

Clan Motto: Recta Pete (Seek for right things)

Origin of Name: Mac-An-Leister, the Arrowmaker's Son

Lands: Argyll

Historic Seat: Dunans Castle, Argyll

Clan Chief: None, armigerous family

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Fletcher Clan History

The name Fletcher is fairly common in Scotland because it is derived from the Gaelic 'Mac-an-Leister,' which means "son of the arrow-maker." The arrow makers would form alliances with various clans for whom they would create arrows.

The Stewarts and Campbells of Argyll, for example, and the MacGregors of Perthshire (the Fletchers of Glenloyn were related to the MacGregors).

The Fletchers trace their ancestry back to Kenneth MacAlpine, a ninth-century king, and their emblem is the Royal Pine Tree. Angus Mac-an-leister, born around 1450, was the oldest recorded clan chief. Even after the MacGregors were driven out of Glenorchy in 1442, the Perthshire Fletchers continued to live there. They eventually lost the land to Duncan Campbell during James VI's reign, but remained in the area as tenants.

When Rob Roy was disabled by a dragoon during a conflict, one of the Fletchers who followed the MacGregors saved his life.

The Clan took part in the first Jacobite rebellion, led by Archibald Mac-an-leister, the ninth chief. The clan fought on both sides during the second Uprising of 1745, avoiding forfeiture.

The Campbell Marquesses of Breadalbane evicted the majority of the clan from Glenorchy (during the Clearances), with many emigrating to the United States and Canada.

In 1643, the Fletchers of Saltoun and Innerpeffer (in Angus), allegedly descendants of Sir Bernard Fletcher of York, bought the Estate of Saltoun in Haddington.

Andrew Fletcher, a well-known Scottish patriot and politician, was born here in 1653. As a member of the Scottish Parliament, he advocated for Scottish rights and famously opposed the Act of Union in 1707.

The Fletcher Clan's original home is Dunans Castle (pictured above). Although the site has been occupied since 1590, the Fletchers arrived between 1715 and 1745, bringing with them the door from their previous residence, Allachader Castle. The clan sold and transferred ownership of the castle in 1997, and it was largely destroyed in a fire in 2001.

The clan's fourteenth Chief died in 1911 in New York, leaving no direct heirs.

Fletcher Places & People

Clan Fletcher People

Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1653 – 1716)

Scottish writer, politician and patriot. He was a Commissioner of the old Parliament of Scotland and opposed the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England. He was born at Saltoun in Haddingtonshire

Fletcher was elected, as the Commissioner for Haddingtonshire, to the Scottish Parliament in 1678. He was a member of the opposition Country Party in the Scottish Parliament, where he resolutely opposed any arbitrary actions on the part of the Church or state. In 1683, after being charged with sedition and being acquitted, he fled Scotland to join with English opponents of King Charles in Holland. He later joined with William of Orange however he realised William would not favour Scotland and his support faded.

In 1703, Queen Anne was on the throne, and there was a campaign to join England and Scotland in a parliamentary union. The failure of the Darien expedition had aroused a strong feeling of resentment against England, and Fletcher and the Country party seized the opportunity to obtain a greater degree of independence for their country. One of his most famous contributions were his “twelve limitations,” intended to limit the power of the crown and English ministers in Scottish politics.

In 1707, the Act of Union was approved by the Scottish Parliament, officially uniting Scotland with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Fletcher turned from politics in despair and devoted the rest of his life to farming and agricultural development in Scotland. He died unmarried in London in September 1716. His last words were ‘Lord have mercy on my poor country that is so barbarously oppressed.’

Fletcher Tartans

The Fletcher of Dunans clan tartan was first documented in Clans Originaux in 1880.

Dunans Modern Fletcher

Fletcher Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Fletcher Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Sable has two naked arms shooting an arrow from a bow.

Coats of Arms for the Clan Fletcher

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.