Clan McKerrell,Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...

). p. 432. also known as Clan MacKerrell,Coventry, Martin. (2008). ''Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans''. p. 381. . is

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised ...

. The clan is officially recognized by the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All ...

, however as it does not currently have a chief recognized by 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 grants ...

it is considered an

Armigerous clan An armigerous clan (from armiger) is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognised as such by Lyon Court. Befor ...

History

Origins of the clan

The surname is of ancient

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

origin and there are several derivations of it. According to historian George Fraser Black, the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...

, ''Macfhearghil'' means ''son of Fearghal''. According to O'Hart's ''Irish Pedigrees'' they are descended from one Lochlan MacCairhill Roidamna who was the future king of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

, but who fled 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 ...

after being defeated in battle in the year 1095. The name is found in early times in

Carrick, Scotland Carrick (Irish Gaelic) is a former ''comital'' district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire. History The district of Carrick originally formed part of the 11th- to 12th-century Kingdom of Galloway, whose lords ruled it until 1 ...

. Recherus MecMaccharil witnessed a charter by the

Earl of Carrick Earl of Carrick (or Mormaer of Carrick) is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick (now South Ayrshire), subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when Robert the Bruce, ...

during the reign of

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 ...

. The name is also found as ''Carleton'' which is a place name found around

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative count ...

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...

and

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 ...

. In the records of

Whithorn Priory Whithorn Priory was a medieval Scottish monastery that also served as a cathedral, located at 6 Bruce Street in Whithorn, Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway (54.7357N, 4.415954W; OS grid reference NX445405). History The priory was founded ab ...

it is recorded as ''Cairlitoun''.

15th to 16th centuries

John Mckerrell, 1st Laird of Hillhouse was the grandson of Martin Mckerrell (b.1490). Martin was directly descended from Sir John Mckirel who distinguished himself at the

Battle of Otterburn The Battle of Otterburn took place according to Scottish sources on 5 August 1388, or 19 August according to English sources, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scots and English. The best remaining record of the bat ...

in 1388 where he wounded and took prisoner Rouel de Percy who was second in command of the English host.

17th to 18th centuries

John Mckerrell, 4th Laird of Hillhouse married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Wallace who was the

Bishop of the Isles The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of the Isles (or Sodor), one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompassing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as ...

in 1660. He also built a new mansion that replaced an older seat. John Mckerrell, 8th Laird of Hillhouse (b.1762) is credited with bringing the silk industry to

Paisley, Renfrewshire Paisley ( ; sco, Paisley, gd, Pàislig ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Wa ...

. His fourth son was Colonel of the Paisley Volunteers who were the first volunteer regiment to resist the threat of the French invasion of 1792. Colonel Mckerrell's son made a fortune in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and was Master of the Mint in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

19th to 20th centuries

In 1895, Robert Mckerrell, 13th Laird of Hillhouse sold his estates. He was a prison commissioner for Scotland and a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

who are the monarch's body guard. In 1990, Charles Mckerrell, 15th Laird of Hillhouse returned to the family lands and established his seat at Lochmaben.

Castles

*Hillhouse, which is about two miles north-east of

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O ope ...

was held by the MacKerrells from the sixteenth century or earlier. In 1839, Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, later the Emperor of France stayed at Hillhouse while attending the

Eglinton Tournament of 1839 Eglinton can refer to: People * Earl of Eglinton, a title in the Peerage of Scotland *Geoffrey Eglinton (1927–2016), British chemist * Timothy Eglinton, a British biogeoscientist *William Eglinton (1857–1933), a British spiritualist medium an ...

. Hillhose was sold in 1895 to the Bentincks, Dukes of Portland, and the MacKerrells of Hillhouse now live in Lochmaben, Dumfries.