Clan Kirkpatrick is a Lowland armigerous Scottish clan.
There are several variations of the Kirkpatrick name; Kilpatric,
Kilpatrick, and Gilpatrick. The names Kirkpatrick and Kilpatrick may
have been interchangeable at one time. The clan is recognised by the
Court of the Lord Lyon, however the clan does not currently have a chief
so recognised. The surname Kirkpatrick is also a recognized sept of Clan
Douglas and Clan Colquhoun.
The clan takes its name from the church of Saint Patrick in the parish
of Closeburn in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Traditionally the Kirkpatrick
family of Closeburn have held these lands since the ninth century.
The family first appear on record in the twelfth century when Ivone de
Kirkpatrick witnessed a charter of the Clan Bruce. Ivone also
received a charter of confirmation for all of his lands that was granted
to him by Alexander II of Scotland.
Roger Kirkpatrick was an attendant of Robert the Bruce when he killed
John "the Red" Comyn, chief of Clan Comyn in the church at Dumfries. It
is said that Kirkpatrick met the Bruce rushing out of the church
exclaiming that he thought he had killed Comyn and that Kirkpatrick then
drew his dagger with the words, I'll mak siccar; the clan motto and
chief's coat of arms allude to this story. Kirkpatrick was sent on an
embassy in 1314 with Sir Neil Campbell of Clan Campbell into England and
in recompense the Kirkpatrick family received the lands of Redburgh. Sir
Roger Kirkpatrick distinguished himself in 1355 when he took both
Caerlaverock Castle and Dalswinton Castle from the English. In 1357
Kirkpatrick was murdered by his kinsman, Sir James Lindsay of Clan
Lindsay in a private quarrel. The title then passed through a nephew to
Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, who in 1409 received from Robert Stewart, Duke
of Albany the baronies of Closeburn and Redburgh.
In 1526 a feud arose with the Clan Charteris. It is recorded in
Pitcairn's Criminal Trials of Scotland that John Charteris of Amisfield,
along with his brother and two sons, were charged with the murder of
Roger Kilpatrick, son of Alexander Kilpatrick in March 1526.
In 1542 Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick's grandson, another Sir Thomas
Kirkpatrick, was taken prisoner at the Battle of Solway Moss. The estate
then passed through a cousin and in 1685 Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick of
Closeburn was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia for his support of
Charles I of England. The mansion house that was built by the 1st
Baronet burned down in a fire. The 4th Baronet, Sir James sold the
Closeburn estates.
In 1563 John Carruthers of Howmains, of Clan Carruthers was indicted,
along with Edward Irvine of Bonshaw (chief of Clan Irvine), for an
assault on Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, as well as for slaying several
other persons.
William Kirkpatrick who was descended from the Kirkpatrick of Conheath
branch of the clan was a merchant in Málaga in Spain and he married the
eldest daughter of a Belgian baron. His great-granddaughter was Eugénie
de Montijo who became Empress of France when she married Napoleon III.
See also:
• The
Kirkpatricks in Seville |
