Clan Barclay
| Clan Barclay | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Motto | Aut agere aut mori(Latin): ( "Either action or death" )[1] | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands | ||
| District | Aberdeenshire | ||
| Chief | |||
 | |||
| Peter Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that Ilk | |||
| Chief of the Name and Armsof Barclay. | |||
| Seat | Towie Barclay Castle,Aberdeenshire | ||
| |||
| |||
 The Clan Barclay tartan in Ancient Hunting colors. | |
| Sett | |
|---|---|
| Tartan registries | |
| STA | #705 |
| STWR | #705 |
| SRT entry | Clan Barclay |
 The Clan Barclay tartan in Dress Tartan colors. | |
| Sett | |
|---|---|
| Tartan registries | |
| STA | #1879 |
| STWR | #1879 |
| SRT entry | Clan Barclay |
Clan Barclay() is aScottish clanof theScottish Lowlands.
History[edit]
Origins of the clan[edit]
Since the eighteenth century, Barclay historians, noted for their low level inmedievalscholarship,[3][full citation needed]have assumed the Scottish family Barclay (de Berchelai) is a branch of one of theAnglo-NormanBerkeley familyofBerkeley, Gloucestershire.However, the link between the Scottish and English families is disputed.[3]TheCollins Scottish Clan Encyclopediaagrees that the Barclays came over fromFranceduring the Norman conquest and that they settled in Gloucestershire,Englandwhere, as the Earls of Berkeley, they builtBerkeley Castlein 1153.[4]Some of the family moved north toScotlandwhere they settled inAberdeenshireandFife.[4]
An old family tradition is that the Scottish family is descended from John de Berkeley, who was the son of Roger de Berkeley, provost of Berkeley, and went to Scotland in 1069 withSt Margaret.[4][5]Another theory is that the clan is descended from a John de Berkeley who went north in 1124 withMaud,queen ofDavid I.[6]
Another theory of the Barclay origin, put forth by the historianG. W. S. Barrow,points to the small village ofBerkleyinSomerset(in 1086 Berchelei).[3]In 1086 the overlordship of Berkley belonged to Robert Arundel, whose main tenant was a Robert.[3]Arundel's manors included Cary Fitzpaine (in Charlton Mackerell), nearCastle Cary.Cary Fitzpaine seems to have been held by the tenant Robert as well.[3]At the same time as Henry Lovel of Castle Cary first appears in Scotland, there appear the names of Godfrey de Arundel and Robert and Walter de Berkeley.[3]
The most recent work on the family rejects previous ideas and instead proposes that there were two migrations of Barclays.[7][8][9]The first of these involved a younger son of the original English family moving to Scotland in the first half of the twelfth century, while a second migration occurred around 1220. Only a distant kinship existed between these separate branches of the Scottish Barclays in the early thirteenth century, and the original family, including such notables as Walter de Berkeley,Chamberlain of Scotland,[4]had become extinct in the male line around 1200.[8]Charters from the reign ofWilliam the Lionshow that the king granted the estates ofLaurencekirkandFordounto Humphrey son of Theobald, in right of his wife Agatha. Agatha was herself a "de Berkeley" and her husband and children adopted her surname, but only her daughter survived into adulthood.[3]A charter preserves Humphrey's father's surname as "de Adevil(l)e".[3]This was about two decades before Roger de Berkeley, younger brother of Henry de Berkeley, lord of Dursley, married a Scottish heiress and became the ancestor of the succeeding Barclay families.[9]
Both branches of Scottish Barclays soon established themselves in strong positions in land, offices and alliances.[4]By 1171 Sir Walter de Berkeley wasChamberlain of Scotland.[4]Sir David Barclay was a close associate of kingRobert the Bruce,took part in theWars of Scottish Independenceand was present at most of his battles, most notably theBattle of Methvenwhere he was captured.[4]In more modern times, the descendants of the Barclay of Mathers line were noted for producing field marshals,Quakersand bankers.[3]
17th century[edit]
In the seventeenth century one branch of the Clan Barclay established themselves atUrie,nearStonehaveninKincardineshire.[4]Colonel David Barclay,the first Laird of Urie, was asoldier of fortunewho fought forGustavus Adolphus of Sweden.[4]David Barclay attained the rank of major and returned to Scotland when the civil war broke out.[4]During the civil war in Scotland he commanded a regiment of horse fighting for the king.[4]He retired in 1647 but after theRestoration (1660)he was imprisoned inEdinburgh Castleon a charge of hostility to the government but was later released.[4]While in prison he was converted into aQuakerby the Laird of Swinton who was also a prisoner.[4]His son,Robert Barclay,was also a Quaker and publishedAn Apology for the true Christian Divinity as the same is held forth and preached by the people called in scorn Quakersin 1675.[4]Robert Barclay's second son, David Barclay, foundedBarclays Bank.[4]
Another branch of the Clan Barclay, the Barons of Towie, were involved in shipping trade in the 17th century between Scotland andScandinavia,and the lands around theBaltic.[4]In 1621 Sir Patrick Barclay, the seventeenth Baron of Towie, signed a letter of safe conduct for John and Peter Barclay, both merchants in the town ofBanff, Aberdeenshirebecause they wished to settle inRostockinMecklenburg.
Napoleonic wars[edit]
Five generations after Peter Barclay, his descendant theRussianField MarshalPrinceMichael Andreas Barclay de Tollywas born, in 1761.[4]He was madeMinister of Warin 1810 and two years later was given command of theRussianarmies who were fighting againstNapoleon's invasion in 1812and in theWar of the Sixth Coalition.[4]The appointment of a Scottish commander-in-chief was resented by the nobles of Russia, however his capabilities were respected.[4]He was created a prince by theTsarand his memory is still honored in Russia where his portrait hangs in theHermitage MuseuminSaint Petersburg.He died in 1818.[4]
Clan castles[edit]
- Towie Barclay Castlewas formerly owned by the Barclays.[1]
- Balvaird Castlewas formerly owned by the Barclays.
Chief[edit]
The clan is currently without a chief. The last chief was Peter Charles Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that Ilk.[10]He died on 2 November 2023.[11]
Notes[edit]
- ^abcClan Barclay HistoryArchived4 July 2008 at theWayback MachineRetrieved 28 July 2007.
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxClan Barclay GenealogyArchived8 July 2007 at theWayback MachineRetrieved 27 July 2007.
- ^abcdefghiThe Kingdom of the Scots,p.331-334.
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstWay, George of Plean;Squire, Romilly of Rubislaw(1994).Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia.Glasgow:HarperCollins(for theStanding Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 72–73.ISBN0-00-470547-5.
- ^Clan Barclay: official site
- ^The Misty Origins of the BarclaysArchived25 January 2021 at theWayback Machinebaronage.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^Barclay, T (2017). "The Earlier House of Berkeley: A Revised History".Foundations.9: 47-70.
- ^abBarclay, T (2017). "The First Berkeleys in Scotland".The Scottish Genealogist.LXIV (3): 83-97.
- ^abBarclay, T (2018). "The Origin of the Scottish Barclays: Part I".The Scottish Genealogist.LXV (1): 12-25.
- ^burkes-peerage.net BarclayBurkes Peerage
- ^"Peter Charles Barclay, The Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that ilk".The Times.4 December 2023.Retrieved4 December2023.
