Clan Cranstoun is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lo ...

History

Origins of the clan

The name Cranstoun is of territorial origin and comes from the lands and barony of Cranstoun in

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...

. The lands might have been named after the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

for ''place of the crane''. A crane being a bird which appears on both the shield and crest of the Clan Cranstoun. It has also been suggested that the lands were named after the ''dwelling place'' of the Cran or Cren, which are both Saxon forenames. Elfrick de Cranstoun witnessed a charter from

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...

. In about 1170 Elfrick also appears in a deed between Roger de Quincy and the

Abbot of Newbattle The Abbot of Newbattle (later Commendator of Newbattle) was the head of the Cistercian monastic community of Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian. It was founded by David I of Scotland in 1140. List of abbots * Radulf, 1140-1147x1150 * Amfrid, 1159-1179 * ...

. During the reign of

Alexander II of Scotland Alexander II ( Medieval Gaelic: '; Modern Gaelic: '; 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York (1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, virtually un ...

, Thomas de Craystoun is recorded as making a donation of lands to the Church that were near Paiston in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the his ...

. This was for the welfare of his soul and those of his ancestors and successors. In 1296 Hugh de Cranstoun appears on the

Ragman Rolls Ragman Rolls are the collection of instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland subscribed allegiance to King Edward I of England, during the time between the Conference of Norham in May 1291 and the final award in favour of Balliol i ...

swearing fealty 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 va ...

. In 1338 Randolphus de Cranstoun made a donation to the Abbey of Newbattle.

David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, beco ...

granted a charter to Thomas de Cranston for all the lands of Cranston.

16th and 17th centuries

The Clan Cranstoun prospered up to the late 16th century when they became involved in the volatile political situation of the time. In 1592 Thomas and John Cranstoun, both relatives of the chiefly family were among those accused of treason for assisting

Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

in his attack on Holyrood Palace. 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. In August 1600 Sir John's brother, Thomas Cranstoun was executed in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

for his involvement in the

Gowrie Conspiracy John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie (c. 1577 – 5 August 1600), was a Scottish nobleman who died in mysterious circumstances, referred to as the "Gowrie Conspiracy", in which he and/or his brother Alexander were attempting to kill or kidnap King ...

, which intended to kidnap

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. 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 title

Lord Cranstoun Lord Cranstoun was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created on 17 November 1609 for Sir William Cranstoun of that Ilk, sometimes designated 'of Morristoun', Berwickshire. On the death of the eleventh lord, unmarried, in 1869, the peera ...

. At about the same time, William Cranstoun, a staunch Presbyterian who was minister of Kettle in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

, resisted attempts by the king to bring bishops into the Scottish Church. 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 formally put to the horn and declared an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill th ...

Civil War

During the Civil War the third Lord Cranstoun was captured at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

in 1651. He was kept prisoner in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

where he languished, and his estates were sequestrated apart from a small portion that his wife and four children were allowed to keep.

18th and 19th centuries

William Cranstoun, the fifth Lord Cranstoun sat in the last Scottish Parliament and supported the

Treaty of Union The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain, stating that the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland were to be "United i ...

. One of his descendants,

George Cranstoun George Cranstoun, Lord Corehouse (28 November 1770 – 26 June 1850) was a Scottish advocate, judge and satirist. Life Cranstoun was likely born at his father's estate, Longwarton. He was baptised in Ancrum, Roxburghshire, Scotland, the second s ...

, was an eminent lawyer and judge, who became an advocate and Dean of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1823. He was also a friend of

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

who he had studied with at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

James Cranstoun, 8th Lord Cranstoun Captain James Cranstoun, 8th Lord Cranstoun (1755–22 September 1796) was an officer of the Royal Navy. The third son of James Cranstoun, 6th Lord Cranstoun, he succeeded to the title on 1 August 1778 on the death of his elder brother William ...

was a distinguished officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

who commanded

HMS Bellerophon (1786) HMS ''Bellerophon'', known to sailors as the "Billy Ruffian", was a ship of the line of the Royal Navy. A third-rate of 74 guns, she was launched in 1786. ''Bellerophon'' served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, mostly on ...

and was involved in a battle where seven British ships defeated an entire French fleet in June 1795. He died of

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertil ...

in 1796 and the peerage became extinct in 1813.

20th Century

In 1950 Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Cranstoun of Corehouse was recognised as chief of Clan Cranstoun. He died in 1990. The current chief succeeded his uncle, who died with no issue. The family is still predominantly based in

Clan Chiefs

''Incomplete List'' *Alastair Joseph Edgar Gordon-Cranstoun of that Ilk (b. 11 August 1910, d. 28 February 1990) *David Alexander Somerville Cranstoun of that Ilk and Corehouse (b. 19 December 1943) **Heir apparent: Alexander John George Cranstoun of that Ilk and Corehouse, younger (b. 1995)

Tartan

References

External links

Clan Cranstoun at ScotClans

{{Scottish clans Cranstoun Scottish Lowlands