Cranstoun

Clan Crest: A crane, Proper, dormant holding a stone in her claw

Clan Motto: Thou Shalt Want Ere I Want

Origin of Name: Placename, Midlothian

Region: Lowlands

Historic Seat: Corehouse, Lanarkshire

Clan Chief: David Cranstoun of That Ilk

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Cranstoun Clan History

This name may have originated in a Midlothian neighborhood. Possibly from the Anglo-Saxon meaning "Crane's Place." The families who settled here and took the name owned lands in Edinburgh and Roxburghshire. Elfric de Cranston was one of the witnesses to a charter by William the Lion in the Abbey of Holyrood around 1170. During Alexander II's reign, Thomas de Craystoun was recorded as giving land to the church in East Lothian, and Hugh de Cranstoun signed the Ragman Roll in 1296.

The Cranstons appear to have fared well until late in the 16th century, when Thomas and John Cranston were accused of conspiring with the Earl of Bothwell (main image) to attack Holyrood Palace. With members of the Cranstoun family facing treason charges, Sir John Cranston found himself in hot water for harboring his family members. Finally, in 1660, his brother, Thomas, was executed for his role in the infamous Gowrie Conspiracy.

As the 17th century progressed, the Cranstons' relationship with the Monarchy improved. After serving as captain of the guard to James VI, Sir John Cranstoun of Morristoun was given the title of 'Lord Cranstoun' in 1609.

While the family fared better with the King, the 'higher powers' did not fare as well. The Reverend William Cranstoun of Kettle, Fife, held firm Presbyterian beliefs that clashed with the King's reforms. An attempt was made to replace him during the middle of a sermon, and despite his resistance, he was labeled as an outlaw. Finally, in 1620, the Archbishop of St Andrews removed him from his charge.

The Third Lord Cranston fought for the Royalists during the English Civil War and was captured at the Battle of Worcester. Most of his lands were forfeited while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London under the protectorate.

The family is said to be hiding a dark secret: a fifth Lord's son secretly married a Roman Catholic. The husband later denied having married, but his wife produced evidence to the contrary. The husband then flew to England and began a relationship with a wealthy heiress. Not surprisingly, her father was not pleased, and the young Cranstoun attempted to soothe the situation with a "Love Potion." Whatever the potion contained, it was not amorous, as the father died of poisoning and the heiress was executed for his murder.

Sir Walter Scott was a close friend of George Cranstoun, who was also descended from the fifth Lord Cranston. They had both attended Edinburgh University. Unlike Sir Walter, who pursued a literary career, George pursued a legal career, rising to the position of Dean of the Faculty of Advocates in 1823.

Cranston's military career also went well. During a heroic battle against a large French fleet in 1795, James, eighth Lord Cranstoun commanded the Bellerophon. He was appointed Governor of Grenada, but he died of lead poisoning before taking office. Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Cranstoun of that ilk was awarded the Military Cross in 1950 and was appointed chief. He was succeeded by the current chief after his death in 1990.

The family seat is still at Corehouse in Lanarkshire (pictured above).

Clan Cranstoun Places & People

Cranstoun Clan People

Catherine Cranston (1849-1934)

Kate Cranston, also known as Miss Cranston, was a pioneer in the development of the social phenomenon of tea rooms. She is best known as a major patron of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald in Glasgow, Scotland, but the name of Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms lives on in memories of Glasgow's glory days.

Her father, George Cranston, was a baker and pastry maker who became the proprietor of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Chop House and Commercial Lodgings at No. 39 George Square in Glasgow city centre in 1849, the year she was born. The hotel was renamed the Royal Horse, then Cranston's Hotel and Dining Rooms by May 1852, offering:

"Convenient Ground Floor Coffee Room and Separated Smoking Rooms, commodious Commercial Room and Parlour, comfortable Bed-rooms and Baths, &c." Coffee is always available. Cigars, wines, spirits, ales, newspapers, timetables, and writing materials are all available. Superior and varied menu at the usual reasonable prices."

Stuart (1848-1921), her older brother, became a tea dealer and, according to Glasgow in 1901, was "a pioneer of the business" there of "tea shops pure and simple," with three such tearooms offering nothing more substantial to eat than a sandwich by 1901. Kate went on to build a much larger social facility.

Glasgow, like other cities in the United Kingdom, was a center of the temperance movement, which sought an alternative to male-dominated pubs. Tea had previously been a luxury for the wealthy, but beginning in the 1830s, it was promoted as an alternative to alcoholic beverages, and many new cafés and coffee houses opened, catering to the general public. However, tea rooms and tea shops did not become popular and fashionable until the 1880s.

Cranstoun Clan Tartans

Cranston tartan is based on an illustration found in the Vestairium Scoticum. According to the Vestairium, it has two shades of green: "that of a tender ash tree leaf, and the other the color of grass."

Threadcount R/4 G24 B12 DG6 B2 DG2 B2 DG/28 R/4 G24 B12 DG6 B2 DG2 B2 DG/28

Tartan of Cranstoun

Clan Cranstoun Crest & Coats of Arms

Cranstoun Clan Crest

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Proper, a dormant crane with a stone in her claw.

Coats of Arms of Clan Cranstoun

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.