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Clan Boyle (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Boyle

Clan Crest: A double headed eagle displayed, parted per pale, embattled Gules and Argent

Clan Motto: Dominus Providebit (The Lord will provide)

Origin of Name: From the Norman town of Beauville

Clan Chief: The Rt. Hon Earl of Glasgow

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Clan Boyle History

During the 1066 invasion, the family 'de Boyville' came to Britain from the Norman town of Beauville near Caen and settled in various locations. Wales and Cumberland, in particular. Hugh de Morvile was granted the lands of Cunningham and Largs by King David in 1124. He divided these lands among his relatives, and thus the de Boyvilles received the Kelburn lands.

In 1164, David de Boivil testified as a witness to a charter. In 1196, the male line died out, and the property passed to the Lords of Galloway. In 1234, when this line failed to produce a male heir, the land passed to the crown. The family assisted Alexander III in repelling the Vikings at the Battle of Largs in 1263, and the Kelburn lands were returned to them.

In 1291, Henry de Boyville was the keeper of Dumfries, Wigtown, and Kirkcudbright castles, and three de Boyvils signed King Edward's Ragman Roll in 1296. Despite this apparent subjugation to English rule, the Boyles remained involved in the wars of independence, fighting for James III at Bannockburn in 1314 and the Battle of Sauchieburn, where two of their sons were killed. In 1547, they also fought for the Scots at Pinkie.

The family lands were forfeited again after Sauchieburn, but they were restored when James IV reestablished the monarchy. The family backed Mary, Queen of Scots and, later, Charles I, which did not bode well for the family. However, when John Boyle of Kelburn was elected as a Parliamentary Commissioner in 1681, his fortunes improved. The Boyles became wealthy through shipping and shipbuilding in the 17th century. David, John's son, was also a Commissioner of Parliament and a Privy Councillor before becoming Lord Boyle of Kelburn in 1699 and Earl of Glasgow in 1703. He served as a commissioner for the 1706 Act of Union and was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland's General Assembly. David was suspected of bribing Jacobite supporters to back the Act of Union. In 1715, as a staunch Hanoverian, he raised troops to fight the Jacobites.

The 3rd Earl of Glasgow, John Boyle, had a distinguished military career. He was wounded in the Battles of Fontenoy in 1745 and Lauffeld in 1747. He also served as Lord High Commissioner to the United Nations General Assembly for nine years. Lady Jean, the first Earl's daughter, married Sir James Campbell, who also fought at Fontenoy. In 1782, their son succeeded to the Earldom of Campbell of Loudoun.

Lady Augusta Boyle, the fourth Earl's daughter, married Lord Frederick Fitz-clarence, the son of William IV, in 1891. In July 1807, John, son of the fourth Earl, was a naval officer who fought against the French near Gibraltar. Despite his valiant engagement with the enemy, his ship was boarded by the French and he was taken prisoner. John never married, and in 1843, his younger brother James inherited the Earldom. He, like his older brother, pursued a naval career and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Renfewshire. He married in 1821, but the couple did not have any children. When he died, his half brother George Frederick Boyle became the sixth Earl, and the family fortunes plummeted.

George Boyle was heavily influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement and embarked on a massive program of church construction throughout Scotland. The massive expense forced the estate into bankruptcy, and he was a million pounds in debt by 1888. His assets were auctioned off, but Kelburn was saved by his cousin, the seventh Earl. Sir David Boyle, 7th Earl, was a naval officer who was elevated to the title of Baron Fairlie of Fairlie in 1897. From 1892 to 1897, he was also Governor of New Zealand. The current Earl of Glasgow, who lives at Kelburn Castle near Fairlie in Ayrshire, succeeded his father in 1984 as the tenth Earl of Glasgow.

Kelburn Castle is located in North Ayrshire. The Boyles have held the lands of Kelburn since the 1100s, and have had a stronghold there since the 13th century, in various forms. The castle is still the Boyle chief's residence.

Clan Boyle Places & People

Clan Boyle Individuals

Jimmy Boyle (Glasgow, 1944)

Once dubbed "Scotland's most violent man," Boyle was sentenced to life in prison in 1967 for the murder of another gangland figure, William "Babs" Rooney, though he denies having committed the murder. While incarcerated in Barlinnie Prison's special unit, he turned to art and wrote an autobiography, A Sense of Freedom, which has since been filmed. After his release from prison, he relocated to Edinburgh to pursue his artistic career. In 1976, he created "Gulliver," Europe's largest concrete sculpture, for The Craigmillar Festival Society.

Boyle has also written a novel, Hero of the Underworld, and Pain of Confinement: Prison Diaries. The latter was adapted for a French film, La Rage et le Reve des Condamnes (The Anger and Dreams of the Condemned), which won the best documentary award at the 2002 Fifa Montreal awards.

Clan Boyle Locations

The Kelburn Castle

The Boyle family has held the lands of Kelburn in North Ayrshire since the 12th century, and has had a stronghold on these grounds since at least the mid 1250s. The current Kelburn Castle was constructed in the 1500s, with additions made throughout the centuries, most notably in the 1700s and 1800s. The Boyle Earls of Glasgow continue to reside in the castle.

Rowallan Castle

Rowallan Castle is an East Ayrshire 16th century castle that was once a stronghold of the Boyles. The castle, however, is now in the hands of the Campbells.

Clan Boyle Tartans

There is no registered Boyle tartan; however, those with the surname can wear the Galloway and Ulster District tartans, which reflect the areas where the surname was historically found. Boyles may also wear MacDonald tartans because they are a known sept of Clan Donald.

Red Galloway

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Galloway Borough

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District of Ulster

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MacDonald Modern

Clan Boyle Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Boyle Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

An eagle with two heads displayed, parted per pale, embattled Gules and Argent

Coat of Arms of Clan Boyle

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.

Kelburne's BOYLE

Gules, three erect stags' horns, two and one

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Photograph of Londesborough's All Saints Church The coat of arms of Boyle. Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, has his arms engraved on the brass.

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The Boyle family of Lord Boyle

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Bookplate for Charles Boyle, Fourth Earl of Orrery, with Boyle's coat of arms impaling Cecil; lettered to the left and right of the crown with "C.O." and "E.O.", and on banner with motto "Honor Virtutis Praemium."; top right corner of impression pasted onto sheet of paper.

1731

Etching

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The coat of arms of the Most Reverend Hugh Charles Boyle, DD, the Sixth Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who served from 1921 to 1950.

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THE EARLS OF GLASGOW'S ARMS

Quarterly, 1st and 4th: or, a double headed eagle displayed gules, armed and beaked azure; 2nd and 3rd: argent and gules, parted per bend embattled; over all, an escutcheon or, charged with three stag's horns gules.

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