| Clan Cranstoun | |
|---|---|
 Crest: A crane Proper dormant holding a stone in her claw | |
| Motto | Thou shalt want ere I want[1] |
| Profile | |
| Region | Lowlands |
| District | Midlothian |
| Chief | |
 | |
| David Alexander Somerville Cranstoun of that Ilk and Corehouse | |
| Seat | Corehouse,Lanarkshire |
Clan Cranstoun is afamily of theScottish Lowlands.[2]
The name Cranstoun is of territorial origin and comes from the lands and barony of Cranstoun inMidlothian.[2] The lands might have been named after theAnglo-Saxon forplace of the crane. Acrane being a bird which appears on both the shield and crest of the Clan Cranstoun.[2] It has also been suggested that the lands were named after thedwelling place of the Cran or Cren, which are both Saxon forenames.[2]
Elfrick de Cranstoun witnessed a charter fromWilliam the Lion toHolyrood Abbey.[2] In about 1170 Elfrick also appears in a deed between Roger de Quincy and theAbbot of Newbattle.[2] During the reign ofAlexander II of Scotland, Thomas de Craystoun is recorded as making a donation of lands to the Church that were near Paiston inEast Lothian.[2] This was for the welfare of his soul and those of his ancestors and successors.[2]
In 1296 Hugh de Cranstoun appears on theRagman Rolls swearing fealty toEdward I of England.[2] In 1338 Randolphus de Cranstoun made a donation to the Abbey of Newbattle.[2]David II of Scotland granted a charter to Thomas de Cranston for all the lands of Cranston.[2]
The Clan Cranstoun prospered up to the late 16th century when they became involved in the volatile political situation of the time.[2] In 1592 Thomas and John Cranstoun, both relatives of the chiefly family were among those accused of treason for assistingFrancis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell in hisattack on Holyrood Palace.[2]
In June 1600 Sir John Cranstoun of that Ilk was indicted for harbouring traitors who were his kinsmen and only on the intervention of the king did he obtain a stay of the proceedings against him.[2] In August 1600 Sir John's brother, Thomas Cranstoun was executed inPerth for his involvement in theGowrie Conspiracy, which intended to kidnapJames VI of Scotland.[2] However, later in 1609, Sir John Cranstoun of Morristoun who was captain of the Guard to James VI, was raised to the peerage and given the titleLord Cranstoun.[2] At about the same time, William Cranstoun, a staunch Presbyterian who was minister of Kettle inFife, resisted attempts by the king to bring bishops into the Scottish Church.[2] As a result the minister fell into disfavour with the authorities and the king's commissioners ordered him to stop preaching but he did not and was formallyput to the horn and declared anoutlaw.[2]
During the Civil War the third Lord Cranstoun was captured at theBattle of Worcester in 1651.[2] He was kept prisoner in theTower of London where he languished, and his estates were sequestrated apart from a small portion that his wife and four children were allowed to keep.[2]
William Cranstoun, the fifth Lord Cranstoun sat in the last Scottish Parliament and supported theTreaty of Union.[2] One of his descendants,George Cranstoun, was an eminent lawyer and judge, who became an advocate and Dean of theFaculty of Advocates in 1823.[2] He was also a friend ofWalter Scott who he had studied with at theUniversity of Edinburgh.[2]
James Cranstoun, 8th Lord Cranstoun was a distinguished officer of theRoyal Navy who commandedHMS Bellerophon (1786) and was involved in a battle where seven British ships defeated an entire French fleet in June 1795.[2] He died oflead poisoning in 1796 and the peerage became extinct in 1813.[2]
In 1950 Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Cranstoun of Corehouse was recognised as chief of Clan Cranstoun.[2] He died in 1990.[2] The current chief succeeded his uncle, who died with no issue.[3] The family is still predominantly based inMidlothian.
Incomplete List
| Tartan image | Notes |
|---|---|
.png) | Cranstountartan, as published in 1842 inVestiarium Scoticum. |
