Clan Primary Image Innes

Scottish Clans

Innes Tartans & Clan

The Clan is said to be descended from Berowald, a Flemish Knight who was given the Clan's lands by Malcolm IV in 1160. It was Berowald's grandson, Walter, who was the first to take the surname Innes.

Clan Motto Be Traist (Be Faithful)

Who Wears Innes 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.

  • Inch
  • MacRob
  • Reidfurd

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Innes 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 Innes

From the start

Innes Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Innes

Explore the history of Clan Innes

How it all started

Territories

Morayshire, traditionally consisting of all the lands between the Rivers Lossie and Spey

Clan Chief

The Chief of Clan Innes is the Duke of Roxburghe however he cannot be officially recognised as such by the Court of the Lord Lyon as he retains the name Innes-Ker.

Where does the name Innes come from?

The clan takes its name from the lands of Innes in Moray

Clan Origin Location Image Innes

Innes House

Innes House was built by the Innes family in the 17th Century and is the historic seat of Clan Innes. The house is located in the North of Scotland in the district of Moray and the Innes family stayed here until it was sold to the 2nd Earl of Fife, James Duff in 1767. The house was sold again in the 19th Century to the Tennant family, who still own the house today. Clan Innes does not currently have a Clan Chief as in 1805 Sir James Innes, the Chief at the time, married Lady Margaret Ker, through this marriage he not only accquired the Dukedom of Roxburgh but also his wife's name and so he became Sir James Innes-Ker. The present Duke of Roxburghe is the heir to the Innes Chiefship, however as he does not possess the surname Innes he cannot be recognised as Chief.

Plant Badge

Great Bulrush is the plant badge of Clan Innes

Clan Motto: Be Traist (Be Faithful)


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