More from MacGregor archives

Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor has continued to share with me some photographs and paintings of his ancestors and clansmen. I always do enjoy seeing examples of older traditional highland dress, and would like to share these with you.

In addition to the previously shared photograph of his father and grandfather in 1953, he has sent me the following.

The above is a photo of Maj. Gen. MacGregor. Sir Malcolm writes, "He was President of the Clan Gregor Society in the 1880s. This photo was taken in 1887 just before he died. He was very famous in India and the Indian Army have retained the medal named after him called the MacGregor medal. What they perhaps do not realise is that he is a direct descendant of Rob Roy through his eldest son Coll. The General would have had a good claim to MacGregor of Glengyle, but sadly his only son was killed in WW1 (I think)."

Next we have a painting of Sir John Atholl, 3rd Baronet, painted in about 1850 before he died in the West Indies at age 40 of Yellow Fever.

Next is a detail of Sir Evan, 2nd Baronet, showing the head and shoulders from a painting c. 1822. (We have a print of this in the Scottish Tartans Museum).

Lastly we have the famous painting showing the MacGregor Guard of Honour in 1822 escorting the Crown Jewels for the King. Sir Malcolm writes, "Sir Evan is commanding the detachment in 'the outfit' and his son aged 13 is to his right in similar attire."

Photo of a clan chief

I was recently sent this photograph from Capt. Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor. It depicts his grandfather, then chief of the clan, in Edinburgh in 1953 preparing for the Coronation of Elizabeth II. With him in the photo, adjusting his feathers, is his son (Malcolm's father, aged 28 at the time), who is wearing the uniform of the Royal Company of Archers.

Thanks to Sir Malcolm for allowing me to share this photograph from his family's archives!

Stone Mountain Highland Games 2008

It's been a while since I've had a post to this blog, but rest assured I've been keeping busy. This past weekend was no exception, as I attended with the Scottish Tartans Museum the Stone Mountain (GA) Highland Games, Oct. 18-19, 2008. We had a wonderful time, I have lots of great photos, and thought it a wonderful opportunity to revisit my neglected blog!

First -- the weather. We were a bit trepidatious when we drove down from Franklin, NC, to Atlanta on Friday. We drove through rain the entire time, and despite our prayers it did not let up at all once we got to the field to set up. The temperature was if anything too warm (all the humidity made it feel warmer than it really was), and we had to set up our entire gift shop display in rather damp and muggy conditions. The good news is that the weather reports we heard earlier proved true, and Saturday and Sunday were both sunny and cool. In fact, this is the first year I can remember where I was able to keep my jacket on throughout the day. I think I took it off for about an hour during the afternoon on Saturday and not at all on Sunday. Plus, the rain we had Friday kept the notorious "Stone Mountain dust" at bay until late Sunday afternoon (so now we know it takes about a day and a half for the field at Stone Mountain to dry after a rain storm).

Second -- how did we do? Well, as many readers are aware, Stone Mountain is one of the few times when we travel with our museum's gift shop inventory to vend at a games or festival -- normally we distribute information only. Stone Mountain is a wonderful fundraiser for us, and we greatly appreciate the opportunity afforded to us by the Stone Mountain board of directors each year. To be quite honest, we were prepared for a dismal year, what with the floundering economy and the high gas prices. And Saturday morning, the crowds looked pretty light. It seemed our fears would be realized. However, by Saturday afternoon the crowds were growing to their usual size and we were keeping relatively busy. I was telling people that sales were "doing well, but we weren't breaking any records." Well, I should have held my tongue because Sunday the crowds continued to be high and when all was said and done we ended up having our best ever sales weekend on record! Don't ask how we did it, but we are very grateful to all who came out and supported the Scottish Tartans Museum. The funds generated this past weekend will make our slow winter season much more manageable. (Come to find out by talking with the folks running the games, the parking lot was full to capacity on Saturday and 3/4 full on Sunday, which is higher than usual).

Finally -- the pictures! One of the Highlights of the weekend for me was the opportunity to meet Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor, 24th chief of the Clan MacGregor, and his wife, Lady Fiona MacGregor.

From Stone Mountain Highland Games Oct 18-19, 2008

Lady MacGregor's maiden name was Armstrong, and that is the tartan I am wearing in my kilt. My maternal grandmother's maiden name was also Armstrong. Both Lady MacGregor and I publish monthly columns in the Scottish Banner newspaper, so it was nice to get to meet a fellow author.

I have always admired Sir Malcolm MacGregor as a model of proper Highland dress. Whenever I have seen photographs of him in the kilt, he always seems so well put together, as a Highland gentleman should. In fact, I confessed to him that whenever I need a good example to show someone of proper, dignified Highland attire, I refer to him and Prince Charles!

I should not have been surprised, then, to discover that his lady wife also has impeccably good taste. Standing next to her in the above photo, I felt as if I were standing next to a member of the Royal Family. She was, hands down, the most well dressed woman at the games (you cannot quite make it out in the above photo, but notice the tartan detail on her hat, as well).

A few comments about Sir Malcolm's outfit -- first, the sporran. You may immediately notice it is an antique. I asked him about it, and he related the story in his family that it was found on the Culloden battlefield and gifted to his great-great-great grandfather (I believe I have the number of "greats" correct) some 70 years after the battle. It has been in the family ever since.

From Stone Mountain Highland Games Oct 18-19, 2008

The top of the cantle is engraved with the year "1736" (I believe -- I am forced to go by memory as silly me did not get the top of the cantle in a photo). The leather bag, which is very old, is assumed not to be original, though he did not know when it might have been replaced.

Another part of Sir Malcolm's outfit that I noticed were his hose. As my wife is an avid knitter, and I have a great appreciation for hand-knits as a result (especially kilt hose), I asked him about his own hose.

His were knit by his great-grandmother, whom he said was apparently a very avid knitter of kilt hose, as there are quite a few made by her hand still in use by the family! What a tribute to the durability of quality hand-knit goods! Notice the fine gauge, marled yarn, and St. Andrew's cross detail on the cuff.

I was very pleased to hear that Sir Malcolm and Lady Fiona were planning to spend part of this coming week in North Carolina, and they planned to make a visit to the Scottish Tartans Museum in Franklin on Thursday. I greatly look forward to their arrival and my opportunity to play host to this fine couple.

The reader of this blog may recall some time back a post I made about the MacGregor tartans, which was relating the position of Sir Malcolm regarding his clan's tartans. Sir Malcolm told me he has recently added more information to the Clan Gregor web site about the MacGregor tartans -- here is the link. (Note: I just noticed three articles I have written are in the links section of that site -- neat!) I think it is fantastic that a Highland chief has taken such an interest in tartan -- not all have -- and it is a great service to his clan.

Here is a shot of the couple from Sunday of the games. As before, impeccably dressed, both of them.

Sunday they were both outfitted in the Rob Roy tartan, which, according to the chief, should more properly be known as "MacGregor, Red & Black."

Speaking of other MacGregor tartans, there were many men outfitted on Sunday in the MacGregor of Deeside tartan, aka MacGregor of Glengyle. Here is a photo of a group of them on the field while their chief gave an award (I believe one of the piping awards).


The gentleman on the far right is Lamar Adron Britt, maker of the Ferguson Britt sporrans. We had many of his fine sporrans on display in our tent this past weekend, and Lamar was kind enough to spend part of the day with us, despite the fact that he was quite busy with the Clan MacGregor Society all day (they were the honored clan).



Here is some of the staff and volunteers who helped man the museum's tent this weekend. From left to right, there is Chuck Coburn, Lamar Britt, Ronan MacGregor, and Jim Akins. Not pictured are myself, my wife Joannie, Jim's wife Kathie, Ryan and Alan Ross, Bisell MacWilliams and his fiance Amanda. Sort-of pictured is Ronan's wife Mary (behind Chuck). Notice the many nice t-shirts hanging in the background. They are part of a new line we've introduced in the museum's gift shop. Not all of them are up and listed on our web site yet, but some are. Keep your eye here.

A few other assorted notes and comments about the weekend. I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Alistair Buchan, owner of Lochcarron woolen mills. I always enjoy getting to "talk shop" with Alistair, and this past weekend was no exception. He and I took the opportunity to discuss the topic of my upcoming November Scottish Banner article (no spoilers here!). Speaking of the Banner, I also had the pleasure of seeing once again my editor, Val Cairney, doing what she does best -- promoting the Banner of course!

(I should also say it is nice to be in a place where my children are not the only ones with names like "Malcolm" and "Alister" -- our spelling of the name.)

In fashion news, I belive I saw fewer Utilikilts this year, though my wife swears she saw more. Maybe I just chose not to see them! As always, Highland dress by those in attendance was a mixed bag. Walking among the other vendors, we did see one that had several racks of kilts bearing this infamous label.



However, I was pleased to see other traditional kiltmakers fighting back, with tactics such as this sign outside Geoffrey (Tailor)'s tent.



One trend we have noticed the past couple of years is fewer and fewer people asking basic "what's my tartan?" questions, and asking things such as "what is the difference between modern and ancient tartans?" and "what is the difference between 'Mac' and 'Mc'?" We were still asked this sort of thing, mind you, just not nearly as much it seemed. Others I talked to noticed the same trend. I can happily say people seemed more educated in these basic matters. Most people I spoke to knew the tartan they wanted to wear and their Highland dress questions were more specific and directed. Maybe we are doing a good job educating the public after all! Perhaps we are seeing the same group of people attending these festivals year after year and after a while people all know what their tartan is? Or perhaps the more readily availalbe tartan information on the internet now is helping? People can now plug in their surname at the Scottish Tartans Authority site, for example, and have their recommended tartan appear. So they show up at the Scottish Highland Games already armed with basic information. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues.

As usual, we were set up right next to the Scottish Spinning and Weaving Society tent, where weaver Marjorie Logie Warren and spinner & knitter Betty Johnson were demonstrating. Both are great friends and it was very nice having them so close by. Here the two of them are looking up the details of a tartan, it would seem. (Or did they come up to the museum's tent to shop for some shortbread?) Betty is on the left, Marge on the right.



One regret I have is that I did not get a photo of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police pipe band (wearing their new kilts made by Lochcarron). Betty and Marge did, however, have to run off at one point on Sunday to have their photo taken with a Mountie (or as they put it, "get their man!"). They asked my wife, Joannie, to"man the shop" for them while they were off on their quest. Joannie did a great job answering people's fiber arts questions while they were gone. So I thought I'd close off on this random post with a shot of my beautiful wife "at the wheel."

The MacNeil tartans

It is a general principle in Highland dress that it is the chief's sole perogative to determine what is and is not a proper tartan for his clan. Unfortunately, most of the clan chiefs have not made their wishes known in this regard, or if they have, their clansmen remain ignorant of it.

That is why I will, from time to time, feature in my blog a particular clan for which the chief has gone on record regarding the clan tartan or tartans. A few weeks ago we discussed the tartans for the MacGregor clan. Today we will discuss the MacNeil tartans.

In 1997, the chief of the clan MacNeil, Ian Roderick MacNeil, addressed a letter to the members of Clan MacNeil gathered at the International Gathering on Barra in 1997. In it he laid out expressly his views on the clan tartans. That letter is reprinted on the Clan MacNeil web site. As the chief has desired to make his views known to the clan at large, I trust he will not mind if I again reprint that letter here.

My comments will be in italics.
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The purpose of this note is to clarify the confusion which seems to have arisen respecting Clan Macneil tartans.

There are two - and only two - Clan Macneil tartans recognized by the Chief of the Clan, who by custom and in Scotland by law, determines what the clan tartan or clan tartans are. [The MacNeil here is certainly correct that long-standing custom has established that the chief is the one with the authority to determine a clan tartan. However, I am not aware of any actual laws in this regard. Someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong.]

These are:
1. Macneil of Barra.
The tartan of the Macneils of Barra is the familiar black, green, and blue tartan with narrow alternating white and yellow (encased in black) stripes. (Donald C. Stewart, the Setts of the Scottish Tartans, No. 166.) This has been that standard Macneil of Barra tartan for well over a century.

[This is perhaps the most familiar of the MacNeil tartans. It was actually recorded first by James Logan (without the black tram lines) in The Scottish Gael in 1831. In 1850 it was recorded by William and Andrew Smith in The Authenticated Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland, with the black lines. The MacNeil of Barra tartan was also woven by the firm Wilsons of Bannockburn and included in their 1819 Key Pattern Book, but with much broader black lines than are seen today.]

2. Macneil of Colonsay.
The tartan of the Macneils of Colonsay, which has also been in use for a very long period is somewhat similar, but has two white stripes quite close together rather than alternating yellow and white equidistant stripes (Stewart No. 168)

[A version of this tartan was included in Wilsons' 1819 Key Pattern Book, though it differs somewhat from the modern version produced today. Apparently it underwent some changes in the nineteenth century. MacLeay's 1868 portrait of Murdoch MacNeil has him in this tartan, with the note that it was the "newly designed MacNeil of Colonsay tartan." The MacNeil of Colonsay tartan that was submitted to the Highland Society of London in 1815 is quite different from this one, incorporating red into the design.]

(The shades of these tartans vary a great deal, from very dark to very light, and from soft to bright. Confusion is engendered by terms like ancient and modern to describe these differences, thereby implying that they are different tartans. They are not. A tartan is determined by its sett, i.e. colour thread count, not by the shades of its colours.)
[I applaud the chief for pointing this fact out! Illustrations of just what he means here can be found in my article on tartan colors.]

As is the case with many clans, there are also a number of other tartans associated in some way with the Clan Macneil besides those recognized by the Chief as the clan tartan or tartans. These are Stewart Nos. 165, 167, and 169.
[165 is the so-called "red-line MacNeil" described below. 167 is the same as MacNeil of Barra, as recorded by James Logan with no black lines. 169 (pictured here) comes from the Vestiarium Scoticum (1842), which has long been exposed as a forgery. This last tartan has never received general acceptance by the clan, however a version of it appears to have been included in the Clans Originaux, a tartan sample book put together in Paris around the year 1880.]

In the 1930's Robert Lister Macneil of Barra adopted one of these tartans, Stewart No. 165, as a tartan for himself and his immediate family. It is quite comparable to the standard Macneil of Barra tartan, but has a narrow red stripe on each side of the white stripe. This tartan has never been recognized by a Chief as an official tartan of the Clan Macneil. [As an interesting bit of history on this tartan, it was included by D. W. Stewart in his book, Old & Rare Scottish Tartans, (1898) as an old MacNeil tartan. Consequently, it is typically sold under the name "Old MacNeil" today. However, it was included in Wilsons of Bannockburn's Key Pattern Book No. 4, from 1847, as "New MacNeil," and I have been able to examine a mid-nineteenth century tartan sample book from Scot Adie that was offering it under that name.]

I have now been told that, without consulting me, a number of members of the Clan Macneil have decided to wear the red-stripe tartan, after discovering that the Chief had never taken formal steps to restrict its use to his immediate family.

I feel strongly that the Clan should have only a single tartan for each branch - Barra and Colonsay - and therefore have no intention of recognizing the red-stripe as a Clan Macneil tartan, except for use by the Chief and his immediate family. (I do not intend myself to wear the red-stripe tartan, because I believe the Chief should wear the same tartan as the Clan.)

The Macneil of Barra
28 July, 1997
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So there you have it. The present chief of the clan currently recognizes but two MacNeil tartans, the Barra and Colonsay (which also happen to be the two MacNeil tartans typically available on the market). The position on the red-line MacNeil is plain. He is adamant that it is not to be considered a clan tartan, to be sure. But he does reserve the right of the chief and his family to wear the tartan (though he, himself, chooses not to). Is this, then, a "chief's tartan," so to speak?

Certainly the chief or his family may wear any tartan they want. I would say that, currently, since the chief doesn't appear tofavor the tartan at all, then it has no standing, strictly speaking, with the clan. Future cheifs may change this, however. Apparantly the last cheif to wear this, in the 1930's, made no moves to restrict its use just to his own immediate family. You can still buy this tartan retail today.

There are also a few more known tartans bearing the name MacNeil, but since the chief does not mention those, we may assume that they are unofficial tartans. This would include a Dress MacNeil tartan that was found in the Paton collection. This collection was largely put together in the 1830s, with some additions in the Victorian Era.

Until next time!

The MacGregor tartans

As I have said many times on this web site, the only thing that makes a clan tartan "official" or not is the approval of the clan chief. That being the case, it's always nice to know exactly what the present day chief of a clan has to say about his tartan or tartans.

I just recieved in my email a letter written by Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor, chief of Clan Gregor, entitled "Sir Malcolm's Views on Our Clan Tartans." Sir Malcolm is pictured here, at his wedding to Fiona Armstrong (now Lady Fiona MacGregor) in 2005. (Photo from The Cumberland News). It was apparantly written a couple of years ago.

The letter was followed with a postscript reading, "Sir Malcolm graciously provided the above information to be freely disseminated among our Society members and made available at our Clan tents," so I hope that I am justified in quoting the relavant parts of it here, in length.

What follows is the major portion of his text, with comments in italics being my own.
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SIR MALCOLM'S VIEWS ON OUR CLAN TARTAN

Many will be aware of an organization called the Scottish Tartans Society based in Edinburgh. On looking at the website one will find no less than 10 tartans attributed to Clan Gregor. Some of these are described inaccurately and some are attributed twice to a specific area such as Glenstrae. Most of them have never been sanctioned by the Chief. Additionally, the tartans section of www.clangregor.com is completely inaccurate and should not be regarded as an authority on MacGregor tartan whatsoever. Why is this? And how does this happen?

It happens because those who can speak with a fair degree of authority on the matter such as clan chiefs and their representatives are not consulted and because of the indiscriminant commercialism of tartan. [...]

It should be said at the outset that for good historical reasons, which will be explained, only the following MacGregor tartans should be recognized as such:

• The Red and Black MacGregor Tartan
• The Red and Green MacGregor Tartan
• MacGregor of Glengyle or Deeside
• MacGregor of Cardney

The Red and Black MacGregor Tartan

This tartan existed long before individual tartans became associated to particular clans perhaps because it is one of the easiest setts to weave. There are those who question MacGregors' claim to this tartan as there are portraits of monarchs and other Highlanders wearing this sett. It is also claimed that it is not known what MacGregors would have worn their clan tartan so proudly. Two points here: First, I would argue strongly that due to proscription, the clan adopted it in 1603 because at that time it was not regarded as a MacGregor tartan. It is my belief that by the end of the 18th century, nearly 200 years later, it came to be regarded as such. [I think Sir Malcolm is succumbing to romanticism a bit on this point. In 1603 there simply were no clan tartans, period. When he speaks of "proscription" here, he cannot mean the Act of Proscription, which banned the wearing of tartan in the Highlands, as this did not occur until 1746. He must be referring to the proscription of the MacGregor name, then -- but this had nothing to do with tartans one way or the other. Regardless, this tartan has had a long association with the MacGregor clan.] It is a fact that my family have worn this particular tartan since the late 18th century and regarded it as MacGregor tartan. My great, great, great, great grandfather would have worn it for good traditional reasons (see below), not on a whim. The tartan is included in the Highland Society of London's collection of 1816, which lends credence to this belief.

[...]

This tartan has also been misappropriated as 'Rob Roy'. Kenneth MacLeay in his book 'Highlanders of Scotland' written in 1870 states: "The famed Rob Roy was a cadet of the Glengyle family. The MacGregor tartan, common like other tartans, to the whole clan has erroneously been styled 'Rob Roy' in the shops". My belief is that thanks to Sir Walter Scott and his book "Rob Roy" the imagination of many people was gripped by the romance of it all and the tartan industry spotted a marketing opportunity and named it Rob Roy, in defiance of the accepted norms of the time. DW Stewart in his "Old and Rare Scottish Tartans" says, "The pattern is accepted by sound authorities as the MacGregor pattern. There are fine examples of it in the collection of tartans made by the Highland Society of London 1816/17 labelled and sealed 'The MacGregor tartan for undress ordinary clothing. The seal and arms of Sir John MacGregor Murray of MacGregor, Baronet". Letters dated 1792 and 1794 were sent with patterns to Wilsons of Bannockburn, the great tartan outfitters of the day, for an order. This tartan should be known as the MacGregor Red and Black.

The Red and Green MacGregor tartan

The exact origins are unknown, but it can be seen in the Cockburn Collection of the same period as the Highland Society of London sample of the Red and Black. It is not known if it is 'sealed' in the same way as the Red and Black. Sir William Cockburn was a fellow member of the society with Sir John MacGregor Murray. Wilsons of Bannockburn listed this tartan as MacGregor Murray so there may well have been a personal association with it on the part of my great, great, great, great grandfather. This tartan was worn by his only son, my great, great, great, grandfather as commander of the MacGregor Bodyguard during the King's visit to Edinburgh in 1822. [This is the tartan most often associated with the MacGregor clan today, and is commonly seen displayed at Clan gatherings, Highland Games, etc., in the United States.]

MacGregor of Glengyle/Deeside

These two tartans are really one and the same. I have a specimen of this tartan which my grandfather obtained from Skeoch Cumming in 1922, who got it from an old woman in Nairn who said it was the tartan of the MacGregors of Glengyle whence her people came. My father believed this to be correct, bearing in mind the history of the MacGregors of Deeside. The MacGregors transported to Aberdeenshire by the Earl of Moray who came from his estates in Menteith to fight the Mackintoshes in about 1624, were almost certainly MacGregors of Glengyle and would have worn that tartan. Another specimen of this sett is in the possession of Andersons of Edinburgh, believed to date from 1750. It is in red and blue colours as opposed to red and black. Red and black would be a logical extension of the Red and Black discussed above, so why there is blue instead of black is a mystery. [We currently have several yards of this tartan in a medium kilt weight available for sale at the Scottish Tartans Museum gift shop! Call (828)524-7472 or email tartans@scottishtartans.org if you are interested.]

MacGregor of Cardney

The Scottish Tartans Society refer to this as 'MacGregor hunting when in a burgundy shade.' This is quite wrong as there never has been a MacGregor hunting tartan. We have never gone in for dress, undress, dress down, fancy dress, hunting or any other such descriptions unlike other clans. Ross and Johnston listed this tartan c. 1930 as MacGregor Hunting without my grandfather's approval or authority. Subsequently in January 1966, when the Scottish Tartan Society was being formed, the society failed to take advice from father on this particular tartan, which has needlessly led to confusion on various MacGregor websites and within the Tartans Society.

The origin is as follows. My great uncle Alasdair MacGregor of Cardney decided to have some red and green MacGregor tartan made using wool from his own sheep and the old vegetable dyes which had been used in the 17th and 18th centuries. The red came out a 'shocking pink' colour and he re-dyed the wool achieving the wine colour at the second attempt. He liked the colour and had a bolt of tartan woven. The MacGregors of Cardney have worn this tartan ever since and it should only be worn by that family.

Miscellaneous 'so-called' MacGregor Tartans

The Scottish Tartans Society and clangregor.com have erroneously listed a number of tartans as MacGregor Trade, MacGregor of Glenstrae (2), MacGregor of Balquhidder (2). MacGregor Trade is meaningless and I can only assume that the weaver set up his loom incorrectly and the resulting material was sold under a trade name. Many handlooms must have been set up incorrectly leading to all sorts of creations. I am sure that many families, in the same vein as estate tweeds are used today, had tartans woven with a distinctive variation from the main clan tartan, being woven once and not repeated. [Like the "Black MacGregor" tartan that I had woven as a personal tartan for my friend Ronan MacGregor, who simply does not like red tartans! This is a personal tartan, not a clan tartan, and there is nothing wrong with wearing a custom personal tartan, so long as erroneous claims are not made about it. Likewise there are many variations of the MacGregor tartan rendered with a white background and used in Highland Dancing. Almost all the Highland Dance tartans you see are unofficial fancy variations of recognized clan tartans.] There is a danger in listing every different specimen that comes out as a recognised tartan when it should not be so.

To summarize, the authority for a tartan is vested in the chief and the only ones that I recognize are those specified above. There may well be a special occasion in the future that demands the creation of a tartan but that will be exceptional. Of course people can wear what they like. But tartan and the wearing of it is very much part of today's clan system and needs to be distinctive, rather like a uniform. Too many tartans and we become part of the tartan army and unrecognizable as MacGregors.

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End the quotation of the chief's letter. Like I said in the beginning, it is always nice to know the wishes of the chief of a clan as to his own clan tartan or tartans, and now we know, straight from the source, the "skinny" on the MacGregor tartans. Thanks to Sir Malcolm!