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Charteris
Clan
Charteris Clan Crest: An hand holding a dagger.
Charteris Motto: This Is Our Charter.
Charteris Clan History:
The family is said to have originated in the
French town of Chartres, and to have come to England with William the
Conqueror in 1066. Sir Thomas de Charteris. Lord Chancellor
of Scotland, had the wardship of Amysfield in Nithsdale,
Dumfriesshire granted to him following the death of Alexander III in
1286. Robert de Chartres and William de Chartres of Roxburghshire
rendered homage to Edward I of England in
1296. A son and grandson of the Lord of
Chartres are thought to have accompanied David I when he returned to
Scotland from the English Court of his brother-in-law, Henry
I.
The Latinised version of the name is de Carnoto,
and in the reign of William the Lion we find the church of Dungrey
being gifted to the Abbey of Kelso by Walter de Carnoto.
William de Charteris was a contemporary of Robert
the Bruce and was with him in 1306 when the Red Comyn was murdered in
Dumfries. Sir Thomas Charteris of Amisfield was appointed Lord
Chancellor by David II, but was killed at the Battle of Durham in 1346.
In 1530, a dual was fought between Sir Robert
Charteris of Amisfield and Sir James Douglas of Drumlanrig in the form
of a mediaeval tournament staged before James V. The contest
was enacted with such ferocity that Charteris's sword was broken and
the King had to intercede to separate the combatants.
!n the 17th century, Sir John Charteris of
Amisfield supported the National Covenant, but refused to take up arms
against the Crown. He and his brother fought with the Marquis of
Montrose and were at the Battle of Philiphaugh in 1645.
Charteris lands then passed through an heiress to
Thomas Hogg, who took the name of Charteris. Colonel Francis
Charteris purchased land at Haddington which he re-named Amisfield. His
daughter Janet married the 4th Earl of Wemyss, a Commissioner for the
Act of Union in 1707. Their second son, who became 5th Earl
of Wemyss, his brother, Lord Elcho, having been attainted for
his part in the 1745 Jacobite Uprising, inherited the estates of his
maternal grandfather. In so doing, he assumed the name and
arms of Charteris of Amisfield.
Meanwhile, the Wemyss estates in the Kingdom of
Fife and arms devolved to the 3rd son of the 5th Earl of Wemyss as
James Wemyss of Wemyss. Through marriage with the Douglas family, the
Charteris earls of Wemyss thereafter acquired the earldom of March, and
lands in Peeblesshire, including Neidpath Castle on the banks of the
River Tweed, a former stronghold of Clan Hay.
Archibald Hamilton Charteris (1835-1908) was
Professor of Biblical Criticism at Edinburgh. He founded the Church of
Scotland Women's Guild and first published the periodical Life
and Work.
Places of Interest:
Amisfield, Dumfriesshire. Five miles north east of Dumfries. The tower
here dates from 1600.
Gosford House, Aberlady, East Lothian. Partly
designed by the architect Robert Adam, this is today the seat of the
earls of Wemyss & March. Amisfield House, by Haddington, was
demolished in 1928 and the park turned into a golf course.
Neidpath Castle, near Peebles, Peeblesshire Owned by Wemyss Estates and
open to the public April to October.
Click here to buy a unique personalised Clan Charteris certificate.
Click
here to visit the store.
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