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Clan Somerville (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Somerville

Clan Crest: A dragon, Vert, spouting fire, Proper, standing on a wheel, Argent

Clan Motto: Fear God In Life

Origin of Name: Name of a town in Normandy, France, near Caen.

Clan Chief: None, armigerous clan

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Somerville Clan History

Somerville is named after a town in Normandy near Caen. Sir Gaulter de Somerville accompanied William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, during the Norman invasion of England in 1066.

William de Somerville, Sir Gaulter's second son, came to Scotland with David I and was created Lord of Carnwath, receiving lands in Clydesdale near Carnwath. He died in 1142 and was laid to rest at Melrose Abbey. Another William de Somerville was said to have killed Scotland's last serpent before obtaining the lands of Linton from Malcolm IV in or around 1174. He later became the king's chief falconer and the sheriff of Roxburgh. A Sir William de Somerville, the fifth of that name, fought for Alexander II at the Battle of Largs in 1263, driving back the Norse invasion.

The son of the William de Somerville who fought at Largs, Sir Thomas, was one of many Scottish nobles coerced into signing the Ragman Roll, pledging allegiance to England's Edward I in 1296. However, in 1297, he joined Sir William Wallace in the fight for Scottish independence. Sir Thomas was given the peerage of Lord Somerville, most likely in 1435, though this is uncertain.

In October 1448, the third Lord Somerville, John, successfully fought the English at the Battle of Sark, where he was wounded. He was also present at the siege of Roxburgh in 1460, during which James II was assassinated. John, the fourth Lord, died without issue in 1523, and his brother, Hugh, took his place. After the rout at Solway Moss in 1542, he was taken prisoner. He was eventually released. His son James, who became the sixth Lord Somerville, was an opponent of the Reformation and voted against the Scots Confession (a Confession of Faith) proposed in Parliament by John Knox in 1560. On May 13, 1568, James fought on Mary I's side in the Battle of Langside, where he was severely wounded. Hugh Somerville, who became the seventh Lord in 1569, was also a supporter of Queen Mary, but his allegiance switched to her son, James VI. The King then appointed Somerville to the Privy Council. Because they were in the King's favor, the Somervilles began living beyond their means, accumulating a large debt that forced them to sell their Carnwath estates. The Scots nobility was ranked after the Union of the Crowns in 1606; however, the name Somerville did not appear.

By 1723, the peerage of Somerville had been recognized by the House of Lords, and John, the thirteenth Lord Somerville, stood for election as a representative peer of Scotland. He built the elegant House of Drum, which still stands on Edinburgh's outskirts. Other notable Somervilles include Jedburgh's Mary Fairfax Somerville (1780-1872), a science writer and mathematician as well as a great pioneer of women's education. Somerville College, founded in 1879 at Oxford University, is named after her.

Somerville Places & People

Somerville Locations

Carnwath House is located in Carnwath, Lanarkshire. Castle was incorporated into a house before being demolished in 1970.

Couthalley Castle, near Carnwath (remains). Somerville's 12th century stronghold

Somerville Tartans

Somerville

Somerville Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Somerville Crest:

Crest Description: Vert, a dragon spouting fire, Proper, standing on a wheel, Argent

Coats of Arms for Somerville:

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.