Wood

Clan Crest: A ship under sail, Proper

Clan Motto: Tutus in Undis (Safe on the Waves)

Origin of Name: Anglo-Norman

Lands: North Esk, Largo Bay & Angus

Clan Chief: Joseph John Hugh Fawcett Wood of Largo

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Wood Clan History

The mistaken belief that clans are Highland groups and families are Lowland units is very Victorian. In fact, the terms are interchangeable, and many a Lowland laird has held the title 'Chief of the Name and Arms' from the Lyon Court. This is also true for the Woods.

The Lion, William

The Old English name Wood (also Wod, Vod, Yod, Wode, Woode, Woods, Voud, and other variations) implied not only a dweller in or near a wood (though why that should have been distinctive in an age when trees covered so much more of the land than they do now is debatable), but also - and probably more frequently - a crazy person. A warrior who became frenzied or wild in battle; a compliment in an unstable, warlike society, and one to prize as a patronymic. It's no surprise it took on. This also explains why the Arms escutcheons of several prominent Wood families in the UK (including the Woods of Bonnytoun) are surmounted by a crest depicting a naked Savage holding a club and the motto, Defend.

It's possible that names like Wood, Stone, Clay, and so on were used figuratively to describe a man's personality or physical characteristics. After all, occupational names associated with wood include Wright, Wheelwright, etc., Carpenter, Forester, Joiner, Carver, Cooper, Sawyer, and a plethora of others.

Then there's the Norman French derivation, de Vosco or de Bosco (modern French Dubois or simply Bois), which means 'of wood'. Williemus de Bosco was King William the Lion's Chancellor of Scotland in the 12th century. A baron de Bosco supported the Magna Charta in 1215, and there are records of a Sir Robert (Boys) de Bosco and his daughter Alice de (Boys) Bosco around 1300.

Similarly, Gaelic forms incorporating 'Coill' gradually adopted the English translation.

As a result, the Woods, like many other families with Angle (Engle-ish) names, were most likely settled in the south-east long before Scotland existed as a country. The Woods of Bonnytoun in Angus may have been one of the preferred Norman families who later moved into southern Scotland - some say with King David I. They owned vast tracts of land in that area, as well as Kincardineshire, Perthshire, and elsewhere.

Admiral Sir Andrew Wood of Largo, Fife (circa 1455 - 1515) was almost certainly a descendant of that illustrious clan. He was well-known for crushing foreign pirates and privateers, as well as squadrons of ships sent by the English government to harass the Scots. His successors, in true patriarchal tradition, built a hospital and school in Fife for their kinsmen named Wood, and were prominent in Scottish history both politically and militarily: they remained a significant influence in British politics and were foremost among the thousands of Scots who contributed enormously to the economic and armed expansion of the British Empire well into the nineteenth century. The main line of Sir Andrew's descendants is regarded as the most important by the Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms. The succession record goes all the way back to 1916, when Andrew George Wood died in Mayfair, London, leaving his estate on the border of Wales and Shropshire to his second wife, Leila Carnegie Anstey.

Leila gave them two daughters: Ursula Alexandrina Frances Edith (known as Alexandra) in 1902 and Joan Leila in 1903. Alexandra married an army captain in 1922 and had three children: a son in 1924 (born in India but died in 1944), a daughter in 1926, and a son in 1928.

The Lord Lyon King of Arms has made Timothy Fawcett Wood of Largo, Andrew George's eldest great-grandson, the hereditary Chief of the Name and Arms. Wood of Largo is a member of the Scottish Chiefs' Standing Council.

Wood Places & People

Clan Wood Locations

Largo Castle is a 15th century castle with only the tower remaining.

Kincardineshire - Balbegno Castle

Sir Andrew de Bosco owns the Red Castle near Muir of Ord.

Clan Wood Folk

Williemus de Bosco (William Wood)

He is the first recorded Scot of the name, serving as Chancellor to King William the Lion in 1168. He is also mentioned in King Alexander II charters relating to Inverness in 1214. (Note: his name was written as Williemus de Bosco - in the Roman Latin commonly used in Scottish Court records. It would have been 'de Vosco' in Norman Latin, so assumptions that he was descended from a Norman knight may be incorrect.

1st Chief Admiral Sir Andrew Wood

Andrew Wood was the eldest son of William Wood, merchant, who was almost certainly a scion of the Woods who acquired Bonnytoun in Angus. He was born around the middle of the 15th century in Largo, Fife. They had a long history of owning land in that area, as well as Kincardineshire and elsewhere. Collins' map 'Scotland of Old' depicts the areas that were still held during the reign of James VI.

Andrew Wood, the owner of the frigate Flower, was also a successful merchant. He mastered the art of repelling pirates from the Netherlands, England, and Portugal. His fame caught the attention of James III, who asked him to captain his ship, the Yellow Caravel. Sailing from Leith, Andrew won many major battles against privateers and squadrons sent by the English government, and he was made Admiral of Scotland and a feudal baron. In his barony of Largo, he built a castle, the tower of which still stands. Sir Andrew Wood died in 1515, most likely. Having enjoyed the friendship of successive Stewart monarchs, his importance to Scottish history and that of his descendants is far greater than some people realize or can be discussed here. 

Robert Wood, Sixth Chief

Secretary of State for Scotland from 1705 to 1726, during the tumultuous years of the 1707 Act of Union and the 1715 Uprising.

7th Chief John Wood of Largo

Governor of the Isle of Man from 1761 to 1777

Gabriel Wood, Sir

Born in Gourock in 1767, he became Consul of Maryland (which included Washington) and later Commissary-General of Accounts for the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and then Canada - the most important army position outside of the United States. He passed away in 1845. Sir Gabriel Wood's Mariners' Home, one of his legacies, was founded in Greenock five years after his death and is still serving the purpose for which it was intended.

John Wood lived from 1788 to 1860.

When John Snr. died in 1811, he and his brother, Charles (who had started shipbuilding in Quebec before returning to the Clyde and opening a yard in Dumbarton), took over their father's Port Glasgow shipyards. Messrs. John Wood and Co. then built the historic PS Comet, Europe's first viable commercial steam vessel, for Henry Bell in 1812. The paddle steamship weighed 28 tons and measured 45 feet long by 10 feet wide. John Wood was known for creating sailing ships that were admired for their fine craftsmanship and symmetry. They were affectionately known as 'Wood's Yachts'.

Commodore John Wood

Another descendant of the Admiral, he was born in 1812 at Kilrenny, Anstruther, Fife, and is best known for discovering the source of the River Oxus for the British Indian navy in 1837/8. In 1841, he was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's prestigious Patron's Medal for this outstanding achievement. Wood's Journey to the Oxus was published the following year.

Alexander Wood, M.D.

He was elected to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1817. He is best known for inventing and popularizing the hypodermic syringe in 1853.

Thomas McKinnon Wood, Rt. Hon.

Secretary of State for Scotland from 1912 to 1916.

Clan Wood Locations

Angus at Bonnyton Castle

Nothing remains of the Angus castle.  It belonged to the Woods.

Black Isle - Red Castle

Torphichen, West Lothian: Ogilface Castle

Is said to have been owned by William del Bois (Wood).

Wood Tartans

Wood Clan Tartan

Wood Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Crest of Wood.

Crest Description: A sailing ship, Proper

Coats of Arms Made of Wood 

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 grated these arms has the authority to use them. 

The wood of Largo

By ScotsTee