| Clan Crawford | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Crest: A stag's head erased Gules, between the attires a cross crosslet fitchée Sable | |||
| Motto | Tutum te robore reddam (With my strength I'll give you safety)[1] | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands | ||
| District | Lanarkshire,Renfrewshire andAyrshire | ||
| Plant badge | Boxwood | ||
| Animal | stag | ||
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| Clan Crawford no longer has a chief, and is anarmigerous clan | |||
| 21st Laird of Auchinames[2] | |||
| Historic seat | Auchinames Castle,Renfrewshire.[3] | ||
| Last Chief | Adam Crawfurd of Auchinames[2] | ||
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Clan Crawford is aScottish clan of theScottish Lowlands. The clan is ofScandinavian andAnglo-Saxon origin.[1][4][2] There was in the early 18th century a mistaken belief that the clan hadNorman origins. While historically recognised as a clan by theCourt of the Lord Lyon, it is now anarmigerous clan as it no longer has achief. The last chief was Hugh Ronald George Craufurd, who sold his land (Auchenames, Crosbie and other estates) and moved to Canada in 1904. He died in Calgary in 1942, leaving three male heirs.[2]
The surname of Crawford comes from the barony of Crawfordjohn, adopted by around 1160. The name is taken from the barony of the same name inLanarkshire.[2] The early names of all of the principal Crawford families are all Norman; however, some scholars have asserted an Anglo-Danish ancestry.[2] There is a tradition that Reginald, who was a son of theEarl of Richmond, was one of the Norman knights who were established byDavid I of Scotland.[2] The Crawfords appear in a legendary incident when the king's life was saved from astag and this led to the foundation ofHolyrood Abbey.[2] It is said that Sir Gregan Crawford was instrumental in saving his royal master's life.[2]
SirReginald Crawford was appointed sheriff ofAyr in 1296.[2] His sister marriedWallace of Elderslie and was mother of the Scottish patriotWilliam Wallace.[2] (If going by the traditional origin of William Wallace as son of Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie). The Crawfords rallied to their Wallace cousin during theWars of Scottish Independence.[2] The family of the Crawford sheriff of Ayr produced the main branches of the clan: the Crawfords of Auchinames and the Crawfords of Craufurdland.[2] The chiefly line is reckoned to be that of Auchinames inRenfrewshire who received a grant for their lands fromRobert the Bruce in 1320.[2] After the clan disbanded, the clan split into families.
Sir William Crawford was knighted byJames I of Scotland and fought with the Scots forces in the service ofCharles VII of France.[2] In 1423 he was wounded at the siege of Creyult inBurgundy.[2] John of the Craufurdland branch of the clan was killed at theBattle of Flodden in 1513,[5] as were the Lairds of Auchinames.[2] A generation later the Laird of Auchinames was killed at theBattle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547.[2]Thomas Crawford of Jordanhill also fought at the Battle of Pinkie but was captured and later ransomed.[2] In 1569 he became a member of the household ofHenry Stuart, Lord Darnley when Darnley marriedMary, Queen of Scots.[2] Crawford denounced bothMaitland of Letherington and Sir James Balfour as being conspirators in the murder of Darnley, however he did not sympathise with the deposed queen and in 1570 actually capturedDumbarton Castle from her forces with just one hundred and fifty men.[2]
In the seventeenth century,Craufurdland Castle was much extended by the sixteenth Laird.[2]
John Walkinshaw Crawford, the twentieth Laird was a distinguished soldier who joined the army at an early age and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.[2] He fought in the victory at theBattle of Dettingen in 1743 against the French.[2] Two years later he also distinguished himself at theBattle of Fontenoy.[2] However, despite his faithful service to the house of Hanover, during theJacobite rising of 1745, he was also a faithful friend of the JacobiteEarl of Kilmarnock (chief ofClan Boyd).[2] In a last act of comradeship he followed Kilmarnock to the scaffold where he received the earl's severed head and attended to the solemnities of his funeral.[2] As a result, his name was placed at the bottom of the army list, although he was restored in 1761 and appointed falconer to the king.[2] He died in 1793 and left his entire estates to Sir Thomas Coutts.[2] However this was contested by Elizabeth Craufurd, who eventually won her case in the House of Lords in 1806.[2] This branch of the clan united the families of Houison (Howieson) and Craufurd and they still live at Craufurdland.[2]
Sir Alexander Craufurd of Kilbirnie was created baronet in 1781 and his son,Robert Craufurd, commanded the Light Division in thePeninsular War.[2] He died in 1812 leading his troops in an assault on the fortress ofCiudad Rodrigo.[2] A monument was erected to him inSt Paul's Cathedral,London.[2] Hugh Crawford, the twenty-first Laird of Auchinames, emigrated toCanada having sold the ancient clan lands in the early twentieth century.[2]
Castles that have been owned by the Clan Crawford include amongst many others:
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The moderncrest badge of a member of Clan Crawford contains the crest:astag's head erasedGules, between the attires a cross crosslet fitchéeSable.[6] Encircling the crest on the crest badge is a strap and buckle engraved with themotto:TUTUM TE ROBORE REDDAM which translates fromLatin as "I will give you safety through strength".[1] The Crawford tartan is of relatively modern origin, and it is certain that there was no Crawford tartan in around 1739. The first record of a Crawford tartan is that of the "Crawfovrd" which appeared in theVestiarium Scoticum of 1842. This is the Crawford tartan used today. TheVestiarium was the work of theSobieski Stuarts whose influential book purported to be a reproduction of an ancient manuscript aboutclan tartans. Today many clan tartans are derived from theVestiarium.[7]
John Craufurd of Craufurdland died in 1612, aged only 21, from an injury received at football. His widow married Sir David Barclay ofLadyland in the Parish ofKilbirnie, Ayrshire.[8]
