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Clan Sandilands (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Sandilands

Clan Crest: An eagle displayed, Proper

Clan Motto: Spero Meliora (I Hope for Better Things)

Origin of Name: Territorial

Lands: Clydeside

Region: Lowlands

Clan Chief:The Rt. Hon. The Lord Torphichen

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Sandilands Clan History

Sandilands is a territorial name derived from the same-named lands in Clydesdale.

The lands of Calder in Lothian were given to James Sandilands by his brother-in-law, Lord Douglas. However, James was later killed while leading Clan Sandilands against the English at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333.

The son of the murdered James Sandilands, also known as James, was sent to England as a hostage for King James I of Scotland and did not return until two years before his death. When the 2nd Earl of Douglas died, James was the presumptive heir to the estates of Clan Douglas, but the lands and titles went to Douglas's son, George Douglas, instead. John Sandilands succeeded his father, James Sandilands.

Lord Torphichen's 1st Lord James Sandilands

When it came to their support for James II, the Sandilands and Douglases disagreed. The Douglas clan had unwavering faith in the king, whereas the Sandilands did not. This created a great deal of tension between the two close families, even leading to murder. Patrick Thornton assassinated both Clan Sandilands' chief, John Sandilands, and his uncle James on the orders of Clan Douglas members. The Sandilands estates were passed down to John's son, James. James married Margaret Kinlock of Cruvie, and their son James Sandilands of Cruvie started the Sandilands line that became the Lords of Abercrombie.

Sir James Sandilands of Calder was a friend of the Protestant reformer John Knox. Sandilands was the preceptor of the Knights of St John, a powerful religious and military order headquartered in West Lothian at the Priory of Torphichen.

After the Order was suppressed, Sandilands was able to obtain a grant for many of the lands. This grant, however, came at a cost to the Crown of ten thousand crowns in gold and a further annual rent of five hundred merks. The preceptors used to sit in Parliament as peers under the title of 'Lord St. John of Torphichen,' a rare instance of a title belonging to an office rather than being hereditary and descending through any one family. Sir James was created Lord Torphichen and retained his parliamentary seat. Sandilands died childless, so his title passed to his brother's grandson, James.

Sir James Sandilands of Slamannan, the first Lord Torphichen's half brother, was a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to James VI and later the guardian of Blackness Castle, which stands on the banks of the Firth of Forth. John Sandilands, the fourth Lord Torphichen (son of the second and brother of the third), was a Royalist who supported Charles I during the Civil War. He was, however, opposed to the plan to rescue the king by invading England after the Scots army had handed him over to Parliamentarians. The Engagement plan was poorly conceived and executed, resulting in the Engagers army being routed by Oliver Cromwell's army at the Battle of Preston in 1648.

James, the seventh Lord Torphichen, was a politician and a soldier. He was elected to the Scottish Parliament for the first time in 1704 and voted in favor of the Treaty of Union in 1707. He served in the army on mainland Europe, only returning to Scotland at the outbreak of the 1715 rising. Clan Sandilands opposed the Jacobites and fought on the side of the British government. The seventh Lord led his Sandilands men in the Governmental army to a strategic victory over the Jacobite rebels at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. King George I appointed him as one of the Commissioners of Police seven years later. During the second Jacobite uprising in 1745, James's eldest son was wounded fighting against Bonnie Prince Charlie's forces and died from tuberculosis. As a result, Walter, the seventh Lord's second son, received the title. When his father died in 1753, Walter had a successful legal career and was the sheriff of Midlothian. His son James served as a colonel in the Coldstream Guards and as an elected representative peer in the House of Lords between 1790 and 1800. James's first cousin, also named James, succeeded him, and the current Lord Torphichen, James Andrew Douglas Sandilands, is descended from him.

Sandilands Places & People

James Sandilands (c. 1511 – 1579).

James Sandilands was the first Lord Torphichen, a title created by Queen Mary in the Peerage of Scotland in 1564.

Sandilands Tartans

Sandilands has no registered tartans; however, the following tartans are most appropriate:

Douglas the Elder

Douglas Contemporary

Grey, Douglas

Sandilands Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Sandilands Crest:

Crest Description: A displaying eagle, Proper

Coats of Arms of Sandilands:

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.