Hadrians Wall

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Hadrian's Wall Tartans Page


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Hadrian's Wall 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
  • Dress

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.

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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.

Dress 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.

Hadrians Wall Northumberland

From the Start

Hadrian's Wall Tartan Origins & History

Hadrians Wall Scotland

Explore the History

How it all started

Hadrian's Wall is the remains of a stone fortification built by the Roman Empire following its conquest of Britain in the second century AD, near the border between modern-day Scotland and England. The original structure travelled more than 70 miles across the northern English countryside running from Wallsend in the east, across the the west to near Bowness-on-Soloway. The permanent conquest of Britain began in 43 AD and by 79 AD the had gained full control over the territory than now makes up Wales and southern England. By the time emperor Hadrian came to power in 117 AD, and he ordered the Roman governors of Britain to build the wall to 'separate Romans from the barbarians' and for the emperor to defend areas the Romans controlled from any attack. It took at least six years to complete by legions of trained troops in Britain, and included numerous forts and ditches, with the remnants of the stone wall visible in many places today.

After Hadrian's death in 138 AD, his successor, Antoninus, abandoned the wall and moved the frontier up to the Forth Clyde isthmus, where he built a new Antonine Wall. However, much like the emperors before him, Antoninus could never truly defend from the north and it was ultimately abandoned as well. With the abandonment of Britain by the Roman Empire in the late 4th century, it is less clear of what came of Hadrian's Wall. Some argue that the largest fort at Birdoswald, life continued and perhaps turned into a local chieftain. Although the path of the structure skirts in some places what is now the border between England and Scotland border, there are no records to suggest that it truly served a role in the drawing of the present-day border. It was only from mid-19th century where early archaeologists and historians such as John Clayton, began to study Hadrian’s Wall, striving to protect its still magnificent remains. You can read all about Macarena's recent trip to Hadrian's Wall on the tartan blog!

What's in the tartan?

The Hadrian tartan is mainly brown with stripes of grey, white, black and blue throughout.

Hadrians Wall Tartan

Visit Hadrian's Wall

Today, Hadrian's Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and you can explore the it's rich history and its remarkable landscape over 20 sites; at Housetead Roman Fort, Chesters Roman Fort. Corbridge Roman Town and Birdoswald Roman Fort. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern England with visitors able to walk the rout, cycle or drive to many of its landmarks, visit fascinating museums and archaeological digs. You can even take a dedicated bus ride, the Hadrian's Wall Country Bus, along the stone fortification.

In Hadrian's words, they wanted to “separate Romans from the barbarians”.


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