Scottish Clans
Bell Tartans & Clan
The origin of the Bell Clan in Scotland does not seem to have been definitely recorded. There are various theories that the name Bell came from the old French town of Belle, or from a Frenchman named Gilbert La Fitz Bel and later William Le Bel, or from a shortening of "Isabel", or from the sign of a bell on an inn, or from the priests of the Druid agricultural deity Baal, or maybe from the moors of Denmark and the dales of Norway. This is all very uncertain but was is definite is that Clan Bell settled in southwest Scotland in the 11th century.
The Bell of the Borders tartan is one of three official Bell plaids, based on the colors of the landscapes of the Scottish Borders and the personalities found there. The Bell of the Borders tartan is predominantly sky blue.
Who Wears Bell 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.
- Belle
- Bellis
- Behel
- Beal
- Beale
- Bail
- Baeill
- Beil
- Beill
- Beils
- Beales
- Bealles
- Baill
- Bails
- Biehl
- Beals
- Bealls
- Bale
- Bales
- Biel
- Biels
- Bel
- Beel
- Beele
- Bayle
- Bayles
- Bile
- Biles
- Beels
- Beeles
- Behel
- Ball
- Bill
Bell Tartans
1 variationsEach 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.
From the start
Bell Clan Origins & History
Explore the history of Clan Bell
How it all started
Territories
The Bells originally settled in the southwest of Scotland in the 11th century. The home of the clan was Middlebie Parish in Dumfries and Galloway, an area of 40 square miles which was home to more than 30 major Bell families. There’s even an old Scottish saying, “as numerous as the Bells of Middlebie” which gives you some idea of how many of them there were in the region!
There were also Bells in what is, today, Berwickshire and the Borders, and although for many years, Lowland clans were considered to be ‘families’ rather than ‘clans’ in the sense of Highland clans, an act of the Scottish Parliament of 1597 mentioned "Chiftanis and chieffis of all clannis ... duelland in the hielands or bordouris” confirms that Lowland families are indeed clans like any other.
Clan Chief
Clan Bell 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. Clan Bell's last recognised chief, William Redcloak Bell died in 1628.
Where does the name Bell come from?
There’s some debate as to where the Bells come from and the origins of the last name Bell. It could come from the old French town, Belle, or alternatively be derived from the French ‘Bel’, which means fair or handsome.
It could be an occupational name, for someone who made bells, or a topographic name, originally given to a member of the clan who lived beside a bell (or the sign for a bell on an inn).
Others believe that it’s a shortened version of a French name - perhaps Gilbert Le Fitzbel, who held land in the Dumfries area in the 13th century - or even a shorter form of ‘Isabel’. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever be able to definitively prove where the name comes from, so the best option could well be to just pick your favourite and go with that as the origin story of your clan!
Clan Bell's Tartan
Bell of the Borders
If you’re a Bell, you’ll want to know about the Bell tartan! The Bell of the Borders was designed in 1984, It was commissioned by Colonel William Bell, President Emeritus of Clan Bell International and designed by Bob Martin, making this a truly international tartan that showcases Scottish heritage in a global setting.
It’s an unusual tartan thanks to its light blue base - perhaps representing the River Tweed which runs through the Borders - and accents of green and yellow. Whether you wear it in the traditional way as a kilt, or in a modern style (as is fitting for such a contemporary tartan), it’ll turn heads wherever you go and get people talking about Clan Bell.
Bell Family Crest
The Bell Family Crest features a hand holding a dagger paleways and the motto "I Beir the Bell". Clan Bell North America shared with us from The Origin and History of Clan Bell: Records of the 1400's indicate that this motto is or can likely be attributed to the peoples' (of that area and era) involvement in contests, engagements of sorts and races of that time; the winner of such events often was rewarded with a small gold or silver bell. Thus, the winner, the demonstrated champion, could and would exclaim, "I beir the bel."
The Bells of Middlebie
The former seat of the clan, Middlebie, is still a village to this day. The tiny hamlet is roughly 2 miles east of Ecclefechan and 6 miles northeast of Annan, just north of the Scottish-English border in Dumfries and Galloway. There’s a church and graveyard in the village where you may well find the graves of clan members past.
Blacket House
Blacket House was once the home of Richard Bell who was the suitor of “Fair Helen Irvine” in the mid-16th century. Helen was the daughter of the Laird of Kirkconnel who owned the neighbouring estate. However, Helen tragically died at the hands of Richard Bell when she tried to defend her lover, Adam Fleming of Kirkpatrick, and a fierce battle broke out. Many poems and ballads have been written about Helen’s story over the years - why not take a trip to Blacket House to get a feel for what really happened that fateful night?
Blacket Tower
Blacket House Tower in nearby Eaglesfield is a ruined tower house which sits in the grounds of Blacket House mansion, property of the clan chief between the 15th and 18th centuries. The tower was destroyed in a raid by the English in 1547 and buried out in the mid-1600s, but you can still visit the ruins - in fact, the tower is a scheduled ancient monument and now sits within the grounds of a bed and breakfast!
Rammerscales House
Rammerscales House, near Lockerbie (also in Dumfries and Galloway) is an 18th century mansion house that was bought by James Bell of Glasgow in the late 1700s and is still owned by his descendants. Tours of the house are available by appointment.
Fearsome
Border Reivers
To ‘reive’ means to rob or plunder, and between the late 13th and early 17th centuries, Border Reivers were rife along the Anglo-Scottish border. Life was dangerous on the border, whether you lived on the Scottish or English side (and this was, of course, ever-changing) and families on each side of the border would pillage and raid each other without any regard to their nationality.
The majority of reiving took place in the 16th century, during the time of the House of Stuart in Scotland and the House of Tudor in England, and it’s during this time that the “Devil’s Dozen” were feared as the most notorious reiving clans. This dozen included the Bells as well as some of the septs of Clan Bell: the Armstrongs, Dacres, Elliots, Grahams, Johnstones and Maxwells, as well as the Carletons, Kerrs, Musgraves, Nixons, Storeys and Scott, making a baker’s dozen of reivers. Clan Bell received several letters of warning from the royal family in 1517 asking them to keep the peace - such is the havoc wreaked in the area by this family who were, of course, simply doing what they had to in order to survive.
In the Borders, clans focused on raiding livestock, but they’d also take anything of value that could be moved with ease, and if murder, arson and pillaging had to take place during their raids, then so be it. As long as the people being raided weren’t of the same family, everything was fair game to the reivers from both sides of the border, and it’s said that raids took place between as far north as Edinburgh and as far south as Yorkshire.
Over the years, both English and Scottish governments mostly let the Border Reivers get on with it and they were often seen as useful in protecting each country from invasion from the other, with the reiving clans serving as the first line of defence at the border. However, when King James VI of Scotland and I of England took control of both countries, he sought to tame the wild Border region. Harsh laws were set out and reivers were cruelly punished and although it took seven years, it eventually got to the stage that it was too dangerous to be a reiver and it virtually disappeared from the border area.
The Border Reivers
Although the Border Reivers are long gone, the history of reiving is still present in the Borders and celebrated every year with an annual festival or common riding. During the time of the Border Reivers, clanspeople would circle the town boundaries on horseback to protect them from neighbouring clans, and this tradition lives on to this day. Generally, a lead rider is chosen in each town - and this man is called something different depending on where you are. In Selkirk, he’s the Standard Bearer, in Hawick, he’s the Cornet, the Callant in Jedburgh, and the Reiver in Duns. The principal rider leads the rideout, followed by others in the party, sometimes numbering hundreds!
If you ever get the chance to attend one of these festivals, it’s quite the spectacle and something we thoroughly recommend!
Clan Bell Today
Bell is still a common name in Scotland, reportedly the 36th most common name in the country, and many Bells can also be found in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, as well as in the north of England, particularly Northumberland. Within Scotland, the majority of Bells are still in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway, as they were centuries ago.
Famous Faces of Clan Bell
Alexander Bell
Alexander might be one of the most impressive and influential members of Clan Bell, as he is responsible for a device we could not possibly live without today: the telephone! Born in Edinburgh, both Alexander's wife and mother were partially deaf, and his father was a professor of speech at the University of Edinburgh, which is where his interest in sound stemmed from. Learn more about the other famous faces of Clan Bell on the Tartan Blog.
Border Reivers
Clan Bell
The Bells are one of the most well-known Border Reiving Clans, having been a part of the infamous 'Devil's Dozen', which is why we thought it important to explore this side of their history. If you want to learn more about the notorious Border Reivers, then you will want to give this a read.
Clan Bell
Poll
With so many aspects of their history to choose from, the Bell Clan is truly spoilt for choice. But what is your favourite Bell Clan Insignia? The Clan Crest, the tartan or even their last chief? Vote now!
Discover Clan Bell
Join Monja and Susan as they explore the exciting history of Clan Bell. Known for their involvement with the nortorious Border Reivers as one of the 'devil's dozen'. From the Clan origins to its tartans, seats and societies, we'll explore it all as part of our Clan of the Month celebration.
Clan Bell
Quiz
How much do you think you know about Clan Bell? Enough to get all 12 questions correct? Test your Bell Clan Knowledge now!
Monja's Minute on Clan Bell
Every month we celebrate a different Scottish Clan and this month it is all about Clan Bell. Join Monja as we explore Clan Bell in a minute... learn how to spot a member of the clan and all about their history.
Clan Bell Society
The Clan Bell Society was first formed at the beginning of 2020, so although it is a fairly new society that does not mean they are not passionate about their Clan! We were lucky enough to speak with President of the Society, Mike Bell, and historian Carl Rauscher all about their connection to the Clan and what the society gets up to.
Explore Scotland in New York with Lorraine Bell
A proud member of Clan Bell, Lorraine is Chief of the New York Caledonia Club as well as being a member of both the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York and The American-Scottish Foundation, in addition to this she is also a member of the St. Andrew's Society of Toronto! So if there is anyone to know about all things Scottish in North America, in particular New York, it is Lorraine Bell. Listen in to her intriguing interview with Anna.
Clan Motto: I Beir The Bell
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