Clan Cathcart is a Lowland Scottish clan.

History

Origins of the Clan

The lands of Cathcart are named after the River Cart in Renfrewshire. ''Caeth-cart'' means the ''strait of Cart''. Rainaldus de Kethcart appears to have been the progenitor of the family. In 1178 he was witness to a charter of the king's steward to

Paisley Abbey Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a for ...

. His son was William de Kethcart who was a witness to a charter in about 1200, exchanging the lands of Knoc near Walkinshaw with the Abbey of Paisley. In 1234 a charter of resignation of the lands of Culbeth to the

Abbot of Paisley The Abbot of Paisley (later Commendator of Paisley; Prior of Paisley before 1219) was the head of the Cluniac monastic community of Paisley Abbey and its property. The monastery was founded as a priory at Renfrew in 1163, but moved to Paisley in 1 ...

was sealed by Alan de Cathcart.

Wars of Scottish Independence

Alan de Cathcart's son, William de Cathcart, was one of the Scottish barons who submitted to

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

and is listed on the Ragman Rolls of 1296. William was succeeded by Alan de Cathcart who was a staunch supporter of king

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

in cause of Scottish independence. He followed the king's brother,

Edward Bruce Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick ( Norman French: ; mga, Edubard a Briuis; Modern Scottish Gaelic: gd, Eideard or ; – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 st ...

and was among a party of just fifty knights who surprised a much superior English force under Lord St John in

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...

and routed them. Alan survived the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

and is recorded in a deed making a gift to the Dominican Friars of Glasgow in 1336. In the deed he is designated as ''Dominus Ejusdem'' which is translated as ''of that Ilk''. Alan was related to the Bruces through his wife who was the sister of Sir Duncan Wallace of Sundram, husband of Elanor Bruce, the Countess of Carrick.

15th and 16th centuries

Sir Alan de Cathcart obtained several estates in Carrick. He was raised to the peerage with the title

Lord Cathcart Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime be ...

in 1447. He also obtained lands in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

including the estate of Auchencruive which was the family seat until 1718. Alan became constable of the royal

Dundonald Castle Dundonald Castle is situated on a hill overlooking the village of Dundonald, between Kilmarnock and Troon in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Dundonald Castle is a fortified tower house built for Robert II on his accession to the throne of Scotland i ...

. In 1485 he was appointed as ''Master of the Artillery''. Alan Cathcart, son of the second Lord Cathcart was killed along with his two half-brothers, Robert and John, in 1513 at the Battle of Flodden. The third Lord Cathcart was killed at the

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Cro ...

in 1547. Alan Cathcart the fourth Lord Cathcart was a Protestant and a promoter of the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...

. He and his men fought for the Regent Moray at the Battle of Langside in 1568 against the army of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

. The ancient Cathcart Castle has a view point and is near the battlefield, from which the queen is said to have awaited the outcome of the battle.

18th century

Jacobite rising of 1715

Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart (1686 – 20 December 1740) was a British Army officer. Before 1732 he was known as The Honourable Charles Cathcart. Family He was the second son of Alan Cathcart, 7th Lord Cathcart by his wife Elizabeth, d ...

was born in about 1686 and had a distinguished military career. He became a major on the Scots Grays in 1709. During the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...

the eighth Lord Cathcart commanded a detachment of dragoons and it was Cathcart's troops that outflanked the Jacobite forces at Battle of Sheriffmuir. Cathcart had also previously defeated the Jacobites at the Skirmish of Dunfermline in October 1715.Szechi, Danie. (2006).
1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion
'. Yale University Press. pp. 144 - 145.

Jacobite rising of 1745

Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart was an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland and fought for the government at the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

in 1746 where he was wounded. In 1768 he was appointed ambassador at

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and he was well received by

Empress Catherine , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

. He wore a patch on his cheek which was apparently to hide a wound that was received at the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by th ...

Napoleonic Wars

William Cathcart, the tenth Lord Cathcart accompanied his father to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. When he returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

he took up legal studies and was called to the Bar in 1776. When he succeeded his fathers title he gave up legal studies and returned to the army. He rose to the rank of lieutenant general and was commander in chief of the forces in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was also created a

Knight of the Thistle A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

in 1807 as Napoleon's troops were about to take control of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, Lord Cathcart and Admiral Gambier successfully besieged

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and captured the Danish fleet of over 60 vessels together with naval stores and munitions. Lord Cathcart was rewarded with the titles Viscount Cathcart and Baron of Greenock. In June 1814 he was made Earl Cathcart. The second Earl Cathcart also had a distinguished military career and served throughout the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, fighting at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

in 1815. He was also the commander of the British Army in Scotland and governor of

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

from 1837 to 1842.

Chief

Clan Chief: The Rt. Hon. Charles Alan Andrew Cathcart of Cathcart, the 7th Earl Cathcart, Viscount Cathcart of Cathcart,

and Baron Greenock of Greenock, Chief of the Name and Arms of Cathcart.burkes-peerage.net
/ref>

Castles

* Cathcart Castle was the seat of the Earl Cathcart, chief of Clan Cathcart. *

Carleton Castle The ruins of the five storey high 15th century Carleton Castle lie in a prominent position above the village of Lendalfoot located on Carleton Bay, parish of Colmonell in the old district of Carrick, now South Ayrshire, about 6 miles (9.7 Km) ...

References

External links

http://cathcartclan.tripod.com/cathcartclan/index.html
{{Scottish clans Cathcart, Clan