Anstruther

Clan Crest: Two arms in armour holding a pole-axe with both arms gauntleted, Proper

Clan Motto: Periissem ni periissem (I would have perished had I not persisted)

Origin of Name: Anstruther is a town in Scotland.

Lands: Fife

Region: Anstruther

Historic Seat: Balcaskie House in Fife

Clan Chief: Tobias Anstruther of That Ilk

⇨ View All Anstruther Tartan Products

Clan Anstruther History

Alexander I of Scotland granted the lands of Anstruther to William de Candela in the early 12th century. There have been several theories about his origins, but recent research suggests he was an Italian Norman. There is evidence that William the Conqueror, William I of England, sought assistance from William, Count of Candela. He dispatched his son (or possibly his grandson). It's possible that this was the William de Candela who received the land grant from Alexander.

Another William de Candela was a benefactor to the monks of Balmerino Abbey. He gave the original location of the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther as a gift. In the next generation, the de Candela name was dropped, and Henry is described as 'Henricus de Aynstrother dominus ejusdem' in a charter confirming land grants to Balmerino Abbey. His son, also known as Henry, accompanied Louis IX on his crusades to the Holy Land and swore fealty to Edward I in 1292 and 1296.

Andrew Anstruther of Anstruther confirmed the barony in 1483, and he fought at Flodden in 1513. Christina Sandilands, a descendant of Sir James Sandilands of Calder and Princess Jean, daughter of Robert II, was his wife. David, his son, fought alongside Francis I of France in the French Scots Regiment at Pavia in 1520. This line of the family continued until 1928, when the last Baron d'Anstrude died.

Andrew's great-great-grandson accompanied Scotland's young King James VI. James made him Hereditary Grand Carver, a title that the family's head still holds to this day. In 1595, he was appointed Master of the Household. Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, his son, William, accompanied James to London. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Bath at James' Coronation. He was also James VI's Gentleman of the Bedchamber, a title he shared with his younger brother, Sir Robert.

During the civil war, his son, Sir Phillip, fought for the royalists. He was imprisoned in Worcester, and his property was confiscated until the Restoration. Robert, his third son, was made a baronet in 1694 and purchased Balcaskie in 1698. Lord Anstruther, his eldest son, was a Privy Councillor and Lord of Session. Lord Anstruther's son, John, married Lady Margaret Carmichael, the second Earl of Hyndford's daughter. Sir Alexander Anstruther, a fifth brother, married the Hon. Jean Leslie, granddaughter of civil war general David Leslie.

Robert, the third Baronet of Balcaskie's elder son, served in the Scots Fusilier Guards during the French Revolutionary Wars, Abercromby's Egyptian Campaign, and the Peninsular War. He commanded a brigade at Vimiero in 1808 and the rear guard during the retreat to Corunna in 1809, where he died. Later generations carried on their ancestors' political and military traditions, serving as members of parliament and in many British regiments such as the Grenadier Guards, Royal Engineers, Black Watch, and Coldstream Guards. Sir Ralph Anstruther, 7th Baronet, was awarded the Military Cross during WWII.

The chief's seat is still in Fife, at Balcaskie.

Clan Anstruther People & Places

People of Clan Anstruther

Torrens Anstruther, Henry Torrens (1860-1926)

British politician of the Liberal Unionist party. He attended Eton and Edinburgh University and was the second son of Sir Robert Anstruther, 5th Baronet MP. In 1884, he became an advocate in Edinburgh, and he was the Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament for St Andrews Burghs from 1886 to 1903, succeeding his father. From 1895 to 1903, he served as Lord of the Treasury.

He was a Justice of the Peace for Buckinghamshire and Fife, and he served on the Suez Canal Company's Administrative Council beginning in 1903. From 1905 to 1910, he served on the London County Council as an Alderman.

7th Baronet Sir Ralph (Hugo) Anstruther, GCVO, MC, DL (1921-2002)

He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge, as the only son of Captain Robert Edward Anstruther MC of the Black Watch and Marguerite Blanche Lily de Burgh.

He was a Coldstream Guardsman who received the Military Cross in 1943. Later, in 1950, he served in Malaya and was mentioned in despatches. From 1959 to 1998, he was Equerry to the Queen Mother, and from 1961 to 1998, he was Treasurer. He served as Treasurer Emeritus beginning in 1998. He received the CVO in 1967, the KCVO in 1976, and the GCVO in 1992.

He succeeded his grandfather, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther, 8th Baronet, to the baronetcy of Anstruther of Anstruther in 1934, and his cousin, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther, 8th Baronet, to the baronetcy of Anstruther of Anstruther in 1980. With the latter, he also became the Queen's Hereditary Carver. His cousin succeeded him in the baronetcies.

He was also a member of the Royal Company of Archers and, from 1960 to 1997, Deputy Lieutenant of Fife and Caithness-shire.

Clan Anstruther Tartans

There is no official Anstruther tartan. The clan, however, is associated with the Fife District tartan.

District of Fife

Clan Anstruther Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Anstruther Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Two armoured arms holding a pole-axe, both gauntleted, Proper

Coat of Arms of Clan Anstruther

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). There are no such things as "family coats of arms." Personal weapons are depicted below (with the above exceptions). Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.

ARMS

Sable, three piles Argent

MOTTO

ni perlissem ni perlissem ni perlissem ni perlisse (I would have perished had I not persisted)

SUPPORTERS

Two falcons with their wings spread Gules, proper, beaked, and membered, gelled and jessed Or.

STANDARD

Asure, a St Andrew's Cross Argent in the hoisted and o two tracts Sable and Argent, upon which is depicted the Crest issuant from a coronet Or in the first compartment, two daggers in saltire Argent handled Sable environed of a crest coronet Or in the second compartment, and a sprig of olive slipped and leaved Proper in the third compartment, along with the Sloban 'Castle Dreel' in letters Argent upon two transverse bands Bules.

PINSEL

Argent, displaying the Crest upon a Wreath of the Liveries Sable and Argent, surrounded by a strap Sable buckled and embellished Or inscribed with the Motto 'Perlissem ni periissem' in letters Or all within a circlet Or fimbricated Vert bearing the name and style 'Anstruther of that Ilk' in letters Sable, the same ensigned of a chapeau Gules furred Ermine, and

Ralph Hugo Anstruther's Arms

—————————————————————————

Laing of Morisland Arms, Anstruther Arms

—————————————————————————

On January 25, 1995, the weapons were granted.

The arms are a modified version of the arms granted in 1929 to the Royal Burghs of Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter, and Anstruther Wester. The anchor represents Anstruther Easter and signifies that it is a seaport. The colors of Anstruther of that Ilk, whose castle stood in the area, are black and silver. The three fish are for Anstruther Wester and refer to the salmon river that runs through the town. Kilrenny's fishing scene is depicted on the base.