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Clan Dalrymple (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Dalrymple

Clan Crest: A rock, Proper

Clan Motto: Firm

Historic Seat: Dalrymple

Clan Chief: None, armigerous clan

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Dalrymple Clan History

The name appears for the first time in 1371 in a land charter granted to John Kenedy of Dunure, which includes Adam de Dalrympil.

In 1390, Robert, Earl of Fife, witnessed a charter signed by James of Dalrymple.

In 1392, John de Dalrympil was the provost of Edinburgh.

Sir Hew Dalrymple purchased the ruins of Tantallon Castle in East Lothian in 1699 and kept them in his family until 1924.

Gilbert of Dalrympille was released from the Tower of London in 1413, and John of Dalrymple was granted safe conduct in England from 1447 to 1459.

Fergus Dalrumpill was a follower of the Earl of Cassilis who was sentenced to death for murder in 1526.

In France, the surname is recorded as 'de Romple' on the muster rolls of the Scots Guards.

Dalrymple Places & People

Clan Dalrymple Locations

Newhailes (a suburb of Edinburgh)

In 1709, Sir David Dalrymple purchased Whitehill House near Edinburgh. In honor of the ancient castle, he renamed it Newhailes. I live in Edinburgh, about a 15-minute drive from Newhailes House, which was once owned by the Dalrymples and contains much of their history. It's one of my favorite locations. You will hear some disturbing stories about the planning of the Glencoe massacre.

Oxenfoord Castle (near Edinburgh - main image at top)

Oxenfoord Castle, which belonged to the Dalymples, is also located just outside of Edinburgh. My friends own an organic farm surrounded by walled gardens. Sir John Hamilton Dalrymple, 5th Baronet of Killock, who later became the eighth Earl of Stair, was elevated to the title of Baron Oxenfoord.

From here to the borders and Dumfries (which is stunning)

Dumfries House (the Earls of Dumfries were the Dalrymples)

In Ayrshire, near Cumnock. The Dalrymples commissioned John and Robert Adam to design the building for William Dalrymple, fourth Earl of Dumfries, in 1757. A classical mansion with a central block and pavilions, the house is built in the style of a palace. The property was eventually passed down to the Crichton-Stuart Marquesses of Bute.

Dalrymple of Castleton had visited Ayrshire.

Lochinch Castle is located in Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway (also in the Borders).

The Earl and Countess of Stair live at Lochinch Castle, whose ancestor, Sir James Dalrymple of Stair, inherited Castle Kennedy and the surrounding estates from the Kennedy Earls of Cassillis. The original Castle Kennedy was destroyed by fire, and Lochinch Castle was built in its place.

BALDOON CASTLE, Ladnoch, Dumfries and Galloway, Wigtownshire

This is only in ruins, but it is haunted by a Dalrymple ghost! The ruins themselves, which are quiet and deserted and have a tragic air about them, are haunted by the ghost of Janet Dalrymple, who walks here in the early hours, her white garments splattered with blood. Janet, the eldest daughter of Sir James Dalrymple, was forced by her parents to marry David Dunbar, heir of Sir David Dunbar of Baldoon, despite her feelings for the practically penniless Archibald, third Lord Rutherford. Janet married David Dunbar in the kirk of Old Luce, two miles from Carsecleugh Castle, the old home of the Dalrymples, dutifully and exhausted by her parents' persistent objections to Archibald. Her two brothers drove her to church and later stated that her hands were as cold as ice on that hot summer day.

There are three main versions of what happened to cause the haunting. The bride stabs her bridegroom in the bridal chamber and dies insane in the first version; the bridegroom stabs the bride and is found insane in the second version; and the disappointed Archibald hides himself in the bridal chamber and escapes through the window into the garden after stabbing the bridegroom in the third version. Whatever the facts were, Sir Walter Scott immortalized the story in The Bride of Lammermoor, in which he describes how the bridal chamber door was broken down after hideous shrieks were heard from within, and how the bridegroom was found lying across the threshold, dreadfully wounded and streaming with blood, while the bride crouched in a chimney corner, her white nightgown splashed with blood, grinning and muttering and quite insane. She never fully recovered and died on September 12th, 1669.

Dunbar is said to have recovered from his injuries but refused to talk about his wedding night. He eventually married the daughter of the seventh Earl of Eglinton and died in 1682 after falling from his horse. Janet's true lover, Archibald, never married and died in 1685. Local legend has it that the Devil nearly killed Dunbar and tormented poor Janet until she became insane, adding a macabre twist to the story. Whatever happened that night, it appears to have left its mark here forever, and some claim to have seen Janet's sad and awesome ghost wandering pathetically among the quiet ruins, most often on the anniversary of her death.

Dalrymple Tartans

Although there is no registered Dalrymple clan tartan, those with the surname can wear the Ayrshire District tartan, which represents the area where the name was traditionally found.

The Ayrshire tartan was created at the request of the Clan Boyd and Clan Cunningham Societies for Ayrshire families who did not have clan affiliations. The colors stand for:

The rising sun's gold

The land's green

The coast's brown

The color of the sea

The setting sun's red

G/8 Y4 G32 DT16 B40 R4 B/8 Threadcount

District of Ayrshire

Dalrymple Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Dalrymple Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Proper, a rock

Coats of Arms of Clan Dalrymple

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.