Clan Primary Image Wemyss

Scottish Clans

Wemyss Tartans & Clan

The name of Wemyss is derived from the Gaelic “uaimh” meaning “cave”. On the coast of Fife, below the ruin known as MacDuff's Castle are caves containing Pictish paintings and it is thought that these gave rise to local place name of Wemyss.
Clan Motto Je pense (I think)

Who Wears Wemyss 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.

  • Wemiss

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Wemyss 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 Wemyss

From the start

Wemyss Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Wemyss

Explore the history of Clan Wemyss

How it all started

Territories

Lowland Scottish clan evolved from the MacDuff Clan.

Clan Chief

The current chief is David Wemyss of that Ilk

What's does the name 'Wemyss' come from?

From the Gaelic “uaimh” meaning “cave”.

Clan Origin Location Image Wemyss 191002 141727

Wemyss Castle

The current seat of Clan Wemyss is Wemyss Castle and this has been the Clans seat since the 12th Century. The current castle was built by the Wemyss family in 1421, after the Duke of Rothesay destroyed the previous castle in 1402. The castle was sacked by the English at one point as well, when Sir Michael Wemyss swore his allegiance to Robert The Bruce. However, the most famous story about the castle does not even relate to the Wemyss family, but to Mary Queen of Scots, as this is the setting in which she met her husband Lord Darnley in 1565.

Castles

The Wemyss family are mostly linked to three castles within Scotland. The first is Macduff Castle, then Wemyss Castle which is the principle seat of the Chief of the clan, and the third is Elcho Castle.

Clan Motto: Je pense (I think)


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