Clan Murray

The Murrays descend from Freskin, a Flemish knight settled in Moray by David I in the twelfth century, whose descendants took the name de Moravia, “of Moray”, which became Murray in Scots. Bothwell Castle in Lanarkshire was an early stronghold, held until 1360.

The senior line acquired Tullibardine in Perthshire and, through marriage to the Stewart heiress, Blair Castle and the earldom of Atholl in 1629; the titles rose to Marquess in 1676 and Duke in 1703. Lord George Murray, the first Duke’s younger son, was the ablest Jacobite general of the 1745 rising. The Atholl Highlanders, raised as the 77th Regiment of Foot in 1777 by the 4th Duke, disbanded in 1783 and revived in 1839 by the 6th Duke, remain the Duke’s private ceremonial regiment and wear Murray of Atholl.

The Murray tartan

There is no single Murray clan tartan. The Scottish Register of Tartans lists Murray of Atholl, Murray 1810 and Murray 1830–40, all credited to Wilsons of Bannockburn, alongside Murray of Tullibardine, Murray of Elibank and Murray of Polmaise.

The clan society regards Murray of Tullibardine as the best documented of them, citing eighteenth-century portraits and a plaid of about 1820 at Blair Castle woven by Wilsons. For Murray of Atholl, the society reports James Logan’s suggestion that it is the Black Watch sett with red lines added by Lord George Murray, and presents it as a suggestion rather than a fact.

A note on honesty: the Atholl Highlanders’ first colours were presented in 1845 by Lady Glenlyon after Queen Victoria’s visit to Blair Castle, not by the Queen herself, as is often claimed.

Clan facts

References

1. Murray tartans — The Scottish Register of Tartans
2. Tartans — The Clan Murray
3. Atholl Highlanders