The Scottish Tartans Society (STS) was a

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

committed to the recording and preservation of woven

tartan Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...

designs from around the world; it maintained the ''Register of All Publicly Known Tartans''. The society was first formed in 1963 and existed for about 40 years. The Scottish Tartans Society ceased to record new tartan designs in about the year 2000, having recorded about 2,700 different designs. Today, similar functions are provided by the Scottish government's

Scottish Register of Tartans The Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) is Scotland's official non-ministerial department for the recording and registration of tartan designs, operating since 5 February 2009. As a governmental body, SRT is headquartered at HM General Register Ho ...

(SRT), which affords some legal recognition to tartans registered with it, and the nonprofit

Scottish Tartans Authority The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) is a Scotland-based organisation dedicated to preserving and promoting knowledge of Scottish tartans and Highland dress. It was formed in 1996 by former members of the Scottish Tartans Society (STS). The orga ...

(STA), founded by former STS members.

Creation and closure

The Scottish Tartans Society was first formed in 1963, by several scholars of tartan and

Highland dress Highland dress is the traditional, regional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. It is often characterised by tartan (''plaid'' in North America). Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice and headwear may also be worn along with clan ...

, with the encouragement of the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

. The society set out to preserve and record every woven tartan known, including clan tartans and artefacts from several museums and private collections. The society also strove to promote the research into Highland dress, and to assist in the designing of new tartans.cottishtartans.org- bout us/> It was also a recognised charity, under

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

. The society's register of tartans was known as the ''Register of All Publicly Known Tartans''. This register was originally a physical collection, consisting of tartans and fabrics. Later, however, the register was eventually transferred to computer in the form of an electronic database.cottish.parliament.uk- artan-consultation-as-issued> In 1976, the society was accounted as an "Incorporation Noble in the Noblesse of Scotland", being granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. In 1988, the society established a museum of tartan and Highland dress in

Highlands, North Carolina Highlands is an incorporated town in Macon County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located on a plateau in the southern Appalachian Mountains, within the Nantahala National Forest, it lies mostly in southeastern Macon County and slightly i ...

, United States. In 1994, the museum moved to

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, North Carolina, where it exists today.cottishtartans.org- bout us> In 1996, several members of the society left to create their own organisation, called the

, or (STA). The Scottish Tartans Society ran into financial difficulties and ceased to record new tartan designs around the year 2000.cottish.parliament.uk- artan-consultation-as-issued/> By this time, about 2,700 tartans had been recorded by the society. Among the tartans recorded by the society are clan or family, district, individual, commemorative, and various other tartans. The society is now defunct.

Scottish Tartans World Register

The archives of the Scottish Tartans Society were kept, since STS's closure, by the Scottish Tartans World Register (STWR). This document relates to the Scottish Register of Tartans Bill (SP Bill 8) as introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 25 March 2008 This organisation was a non-authoritative body formed by a consultant to STS, and aimed to record any tartan, new or old, upon request. STWR is the

trading name A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

of a registered company, Tartan Registration Limited, also a registered Scottish charity. STWR's database, also called the ''Scottish Tartans World Register'', was based upon the ''Register of All Publicly Known Tartans'', and included about 3,000 tartan designs. The STWR's data has been subsumed into that of the

(SRT) in Edinburgh, which is the Scottish government's official register of tartans. STWR no longer registers tartans, and directs interested parties to the SRT.

References

{{reflist

External links

Tartans of Scotland
official website of the Scottish Tartans World Register. Contains free information on its list of registered tartans. 1963 establishments in Scotland 2000 disestablishments in Scotland Arts organizations established in 1963 Charities based in Scotland Defunct clubs and societies of the United Kingdom Heritage organisations in Scotland Tartan organisations