Jardine Clan

Jardine Clan Crest: A six pointed spur rowel.

Jardine Clan Motto: Cave Adsum (Beware I am present).

Jardine Clan History:
The surname of du Jardin was recorded at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and it is assumed that the family, which takes its name from the French word for a garden, moved in the following century to Kendal, in Westmorland, then to the Wandel and Hartside area of Lanarkshire by the 13th century.
Winfredus de Jardin witnessed Charters for both Arbroath Abbey and Kelso Abbey during the reign of David I. Another Charter for Arbroath Abbey from Robert Bruce, ancestor of King Robert I, was witnessed by Humphrey de Jardin in 1178. Rendering homage to Edward I of England for lands held in Linlithgow in 1296 is a Jorden del Orchard, assumed to be of the same Jardine family.

By the 14th century, the Jardines were firmly established at Applegirth on the River Annan, in Dumfriesshire, and from here springs the Chiefly line.  In the early 16th century, Sir Alexander de Jardine and his son, John, were preoccupied with defending the Border land against the English. By 1573 the Jardines were confirmed in their lands of Jardinefield in Berwickshire, Applegirth and Sibbaldbie in Dumfrieshire, Hartside and Wandel in Lanarkshire, and Kirkandrews in Kirkudbrightshire. The Clan supported Mary Queen of Scots until her marriage to the Earl of Bothwell, when they transferred their allegiance to the child James VI.

In 1672, Alexander Jardine of Applegirth was created a Nova Scotia Baronet. The 4th Baronet joined the Sovereign Order of Malta and died in Brussels. He was succeeded by his brother, Sir William. Thereafter, the Baronetcy and Chiefship passed steadily through the generations to the current, 24th Chief.

Frank Jardine, a nephew of the 7th Baronet, married Princess Sana, niece of the King of Samoa and called his estate in the new State of Queensland in Australia, Lockerbie. The Reverend John Jardine (1716 - 1766) was Dean of the Thistle and a co-founder of The Edinburgh Review. Dr William Jardine (1784-1843), a surgeon, co-founded the Jardine Matheson trading empire in Hong Kong.  The Buchanan-Jardine Family of Castle Milk, in Dumfriesshire, are his descendants, the 2nd Baronet having adopted the additional surname of Buchanan. 

Surname distribution in Scotland: The highest concentrations of the Jardine name occur in Dumfries and Galloway (Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire), Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.

Places of Interest:
Jardine Hall, situated on River Annan, Dumfriesshire. An elegant mansion built in 1814 for Sir William Jardine of Applegirth, an eminent ornithologist.

Spedlins Tower, on the River Annan, Dumfriesshire.  It was abandoned in the late 17th century.

Personalised Clan Jardine membership certificates.