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

Clan Barclay (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

By ScotsTee Shop

Barclay

Clan Crest: On a chapeau doubled Ermine a hand holding a dagger, Proper

Clan Motto: Aut Agere Aut Mori (Either action or death)

Origin of Name: Placename from Berkeley, England

Lands: Aberdeenshire, Moray, and Ayrshire

Historic Seat: Towie Barclay Castle

Clan Chief: Peter Barclay of that Ilk

⇨ View All Barclay Tartan Products

Clan Barclay History

During the Norman Conquest, the Barclays arrived in Gloucestershire from France. Their name was spelled 'de Berchelai' at first, which could be an Anglo-Saxon spelling of 'beau' (beautiful) and 'lee' (meadow or field). Furthermore, the first names Roger and Ralph were common among the early Gloucester settlers.

Aberdeenshire's Towie Barclay Castle. The current castle was built in 1593 by the Barclays, who had held the lands there since the 11th century. Because the clan believed the castle was cursed, they sold it in 1755, and no Barclay has lived there since.

In 1153, the Earls of Berkeley constructed Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire as a fortress. It became famous in 1327, when Edward II was imprisoned and murdered by his Queen.

Early in the 12th century, Theobald de Berkeley settled in the North East of Scotland, and this branch of the family settled in Aberdeenshire, primarily in Towie, Mathers, Gartley, and Pierston. When Alexander Barclay married the sister of the Great Marischal of Aberdeen in 1351, he inherited this estate.

The Barclays played a key role in the American Revolutionary War.

In 1165, Walter de Berkeley was Chamberlain of Scotland, which meant he had a close relationship with his royal master, William the Lion. Sir David Barclay was a close friend of Robert the Bruce's and was present at most of his battles, including Methven, where he was captured.

On his return from the Thirty Years War in the mid-seventeenth century, Sir David Barclay purchased the estate of Urie near Stonehaven in Kincardineshire (Aberdeen). As a professional soldier in Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden's armies, he had attained the rank of Colonel. He officially retired in 1647, but it was not a peaceful retirement, as Colonel Barclay took up arms for Charles I the following year (1648). During Cromwell's reign, he served as a Scottish representative in London.

However, his personal fortunes were reversed during the Restoration of 1660.

He was imprisoned at Edinburgh Castle on charges of hostility to the government stemming from his support for Charles I, but he was soon freed thanks to the influence of powerful allies gained during the civil war. During his confinement, David Barclay was converted to the Quaker faith, or 'Society of Friends', by the Laird of Swinton. The extent of the family's conversion was such that in 1675, David's son, Robert Barclay (b.1648), published a Quaker tract titled:

'An Apology for the True Christian Divinity as it is held forth and preached by the scorned Quakers.' This contradicted his education at the firmly Catholic Scots College in Paris.

Clan Barclay Places & People

People of Clan Barclay

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (1761-1818) was a field marshal.

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly was born in modern-day Lithuania and was a descendant of Scottish immigrants who settled in Livona in the 1600s. He was a pivotal figure in Russian military history. He commanded the Russian armies fighting Napoleon in 1812 as Minister of War. He launched the scorched earth campaign, which aided Napoleon's retreat from Moscow later that year.

The Tsar made Barclay de Tolly a prince, and his portrait still hangs in the Hermitage in St Petersburg.

Clan Barclay Locations

Castle Towie Barclay

Towie Barclay Castle is a historic castle located 4.5 miles south-southeast of Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Clan Barclay built the current structure in 1593. Malcolm III of Scotland bestowed the site on the Clan in the 11th century.

The Balvaird Castle

Baile a' Bhàird means 'Township of the Bard' in Gaelic. This is a medieval Scottish tower house built around 1500 for Sir Andrew Murray, the younger son of the Murray of Tullibardine family. He obtained the lands of Balvaird through his marriage to the wealthy heiress Margaret Barclay. Balvaird Castle was most likely built on the site of an earlier Barclay family castle. Significant earthwork fortifications around the Castle may have survived from earlier defenses.

Clan Barclay Tartans

The infamous tartan con men Sobieski Stewarts and their manuscript the Vestiarium Scoticum inspired the Barclay hunting tartan. However, it has now been used for nearly 200 years as the Barclay tartan, so don't be put off.

Thread-count R/4 G32 B32 G/4

Ancient Barclay Hunting

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

The Barclay dress tartan is based on the Sobieski brothers' 1842 'hunting' Barclay.

Thread-count W/4 Y32 K32 Y/4

Barclay Gown

Clan Barclay Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Barclay Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

A hand holding a dagger on a chapeau doubled Ermine, Proper

Coats of Arms of Clan Barclay

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.