Clan Primary Image Hepburn

Scottish Clans

Hepburn Tartans & Clan

Adam de Hepbourne was the founder of the Hepburn family, he is said to have been a prisoner of the Earl of March. The Earl later gifted Hepbourne land in East Lothain in return for saving the earls life from a ferocious horse.

Clan Motto Keep Tryst (Meet as agreed at the designated time and place)

Who Wears Hepburn Tartan? - Associated Names

First of all to explain why there are so many tartans, way over 2000 in fact. There are an awful lot of Scottish clans to start with and on top of this each clan can have many different tartans and names associated with it.

  • Hepbourne
  • Hapburn
  • Hepburne
  • Hopburn
  • Hibburne

Shop Hepburn Tartans & Clan From Curtains to Clothing, use the filters below to navigate through everything we offer in Hepburn Tartans

Hepburn Tartans

1 variations

Each tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress

About tartan variations

  • Ancient
  • Modern
  • Weathered
  • Hunting
  • One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if

Ancient Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.

Helpful Advice

Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.

Modern Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.

Helpful Advice

The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern

Weathered Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.

Helpful Advice

Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.

Hunting Tartan

The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.

Helpful Advice

One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.

One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if Tartan

The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.

Helpful Advice

One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.

Clan Origin Primary Image Hepburn

From the start

Hepburn Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Hepburn

Explore the history of Clan Hepburn

How it all started

Territories

Nothumberland & East Lothian

Clan Chief

Clan Hepburn is an armigerous clan which means that the clan, family or name is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon, but does not currently have a chief recognised by the Lyon Court.

Where does the name Hepburn come from?

From the Old English words heah meaning high and byrgen meaning burial mound.

Clan Origin Location Image Hepburn

Hepburn Bastle

The Hepburn Bastle is located just on the edge of the Chillingham Castle lands in the North of England. The Hepburn family live in the Bastle from 1271 until the 18th Century, which is why it is their Clan's Historic Seat. However, in the 18th Century the branch of Hepburns that lived in the Bastle died out leaving only a female heir and so this no longer remained the Clans seat. Throughout the past few centuries there has been a number of different branches of Hepburns including Hailes, Waughton, Smeaton, Bolton, Alderston, Bearford, Beanston, Humbie, Keith, Nunraw and Monkrigg.

Mary Queen of Scots

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell was a mercurial nobleman who escorted Mary Queen of Scots home to Scotland from France.

Clan Motto: Keep Tryst (Meet as agreed at the designated time and place).


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