Clan Primary Image Lennox

Scottish Clans

Lennox Tartans & Clan

From the ancient Celtic Mormaers of Levenax sprang the Earls of Lennox who were to become joined to the royal house of Stewart. The origins of the earldom, which was well established by the twelfth century, are disputed, but one theory asserts that a Saxon baron by the name of Arkyll received lands in Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire from Malcolm III, and by his marriage to a Scottish heiress had a son, Alwyn, first Earl of Lennox. However, it is claimed by other historians that the earldom was conferred by William the Lion upon his brother, David, Earl of Huntingdon, and that the family of Lennox was not established until after William’s reign.

Clan Motto I’ll Defend (I’ll Defend)

Who Wears Lennox 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.

  • Lenox

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

Lennox Tartans

2 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 Lennox

From the start

Lennox Clan Lennox Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Lennox

Explore the history of Clan Lennox

How it all started

Territories

The ancient earldom which bore this name consisted of the whole of Dunbartonshire, as well as large parts of Renfrewshire, Stirlingshire and Perthshire.

Clan Chief

The current chief is Edward Lennox of that Ilk

Where does the name Lennox come from?

‘Leamhanach’ signified in Gaelic a ‘smooth stream’ or perhaps ‘place of the elm trees’.

Clan Origin Location Image Lennox

Lennox Castle

Lennox Castle was built during the 1830's and is the histroic seat of Clan Lennox. The Castle was designed by David Hamilton, the same architect responsible for many of the grand houses and castles at that time, and it was commissioned by John Lennox Kincaid Lennox. The Kincaid family did originally reside in Kincaid house, but once the Lennox and Kincaid families combined they built their own Castle to represent Clan Lennox. The Lennox family stayed there until 1927, when they eventually sold the Castle. The Castle was transformed into a hospital shortly after this and functioned like this until 2002, it now lies only in remains after a fire destroyed it in 2008.

Clan Lennox

On 31 May 2017, the current Lennox clan chief organised his clan into a society known simply as "Clan Lennox," he appointed officers and an international council of commissioners. The executive administrative officer of the clan is titled the Clan Chamberlain and the first chamberlain is Gordon Lennox, a solicitor from Glasgow.

Clan Motto: I’ll Defend.


Explore More...