Clan Primary Image Crawford

Scottish Clans

Crawford Tartans & Clan

Originally, the name, "Crawford," identified an actual place in Lanarkshire, Scotland. "There, where the sandy gravel of the Clyde formed a shallow firm bottom for the river ...where the crows wheeled in the empty air over the open heather that stretched away toward the mountains, there the Crawford family began." (Summary from Wayne Crawford)
Clan Motto Tutum Te Robore Reddam (I will give you safety by strength)

Who Wears Crawford 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.

  • Craford

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Crawford Tartans

4 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.

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.

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.

Clan Origin Primary Image Crawford

From the start

Crawford Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Crawford

Explore the history of Clan Crawford

How it all started

Territories

Johannes Crawford was the lord of the fief of Crawford and the earliest ancestor of the Crawford name. In the year 1140 he took as his own name that of the lands he held as a feudal baron. His decendents did the same. Sir Reginald de Crawford was the sheriff of Ayreshire in 1294.

Clan Chief

Clan Crawford 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 Crawford come from?

Originally the name Crawford identified an actual place in Lanarkshire, Scotland "where the Clyde River winds down through the high moors of a marshy valley toward the Irish Sea".

Clan Origin Location Image Crawford

Crawford Castle

The Mennock Pass is where the River Clyde passes through the Lowther Hills and Crawford Castle sits here overseeing the main access north and south between Edinburgh, Glasgow and Carlisle. Built in the 12th century using earth and timber, the earliest record is from around 1175 the Crawford family were granted the manor on the condition that they built a castle to secure their security and that of King David I. The Lindsay family gained ownership of the castle in 1215 through marriage.

Sir David Lindsay became the first Earl of Crawford in 1398, and the coat of arms above derives from this period.

Clan Motto: Tutum Te Robore Reddam (I will give you safety by strength)


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