Clan Forrester
Encyclopedia
Scottish clan
Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
. The clan is an armigerous clan
Armigerous clan
An armigerous clan is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognized as such by Lyon Court...
, and has no position under Scots law
Scots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
, because there is no chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms
Lord Lyon King of Arms
The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest...
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Origins of the Clan
It is believed that the Clan Forrester is of CeltCelt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic origin. The founder of the clan is believed to be a man called Marnin Forrester who held lands in Dunipace
Dunipace
Dunipace is a village in the west of the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is south of Stirling and north-west of Falkirk. The village is situated on the north bank of the River Carron and adjoins the town of Denny to the south of the river....
, Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...
in about 1200.
Sir Adam Forrester is the first confirmed Forrester from contemporary evidence and is also regarded as the first confirmed founder of the Clan Forrester. He was an ambassador, merchant, Provost of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland
Great Seal of Scotland
The Great Seal of Scotland allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually. Wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix and impressed into a wax figure that is attached by cord or ribbon to documents that the monarch wishes to make official...
and Deputy Chamberlain of Scotland. In 1376 he acquired the estate of Corstorphine
Corstorphine
Corstorphine was originally a village to the west of—and separate from—Edinburgh, Scotland, and is now a suburb of that city.Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks...
in Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
where Corstorphine Castle once stood.
Wars of Scottish Independence
During the Wars of Scottish IndependenceWars of Scottish Independence
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....
the Clan Forrester supported King Robert the Bruce of Scotland
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
and fought against the English at the Battle of Halidon Hill
Battle of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill was fought during the Second War of Scottish Independence. Scottish forces under Sir Archibald Douglas were heavily defeated on unfavourable terrain while trying to relieve Berwick-upon-Tweed.-The Disinherited:...
in 1333. A daughter of the chief of Clan Forrester married Robert de Munro of Foulis, chief of the Clan Munro
Clan Munro
-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
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15th Century & Clan Conflicts
Sir Adam's son, Sir John Forrester also became Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland , Chamberlain of Scotland and Keeper of the Household to King James I of ScotlandJames I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
Together they fought in support of the King at the Battle of Humbleton Hill
Battle of Humbleton Hill
The Battle of Humbleton Hill was a conflict between the English and Scottish armies on September 14, 1402 in Northumberland, England. The battle was recounted in Shakespeare’s Henry IV...
in 1402. The Clan Forrester also fought at the Battle of Sauchieburn
Battle of Sauchieburn
The Battle of Sauchieburn was fought on June 11, 1488, at the side of Sauchie Burn, a stream about two miles south of Stirling, Scotland. The battle was fought between as many as 30,000 troops of King James III of Scotland and some 18,000 troops raised by a group of dissident Scottish nobles...
in 1488.
16th Century & Anglo-Scottish Wars
In the 16th century during the Anglo-Scottish WarsAnglo-Scottish Wars
The Anglo-Scottish Wars were a series of wars fought between England and Scotland during the sixteenth century.After the Wars of Scottish Independence, England and Scotland had fought several times during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In most cases, one country had attempted to...
the Clan Forrester led by the leader of a cadet branch Sir John Forrester of Niddry fought against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field
Battle of Flodden Field
The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...
in 1513 where he was slain. The Clan also fought against the English at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...
in 1547 where the seventh chief. Sir James Forrester was there slain. The Clan Forrester also fought at the Battle of Langside
Battle of Langside
The Battle of Langside, fought on 13 May 1568, was one of the more unusual contests in Scottish history, bearing a superficial resemblance to a grand family quarrel, in which a mother fought her brother who was defending the rights of her infant son...
in 1568 and the Battle of Ivry
Battle of Ivry
The Battle of Ivry was fought on 14 March 1590, during the French Wars of Religion. The battle was a decisive victory for Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV of France, leading Huguenot forces against the Catholic League forces led by the Duc de Mayenne...
in 1590.
17th Century & Civil War
The tenth chief Sir George Forrester was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia and raised to Lord Forrester of Corstophine in 1633. On his death the title became dormant and still awits to be claimed.James and William Baille, the sons in law of the first Lord Forrester assumed the name and arms of Forrester and inherited the title under a regrant of the peerage of Scotland.
During the Civil War the Clan Forrester supported the Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
cause. As a result James, chief of Clan Forrester was fined heavily by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and the estates became burdened with debts. James was murderdby his mistress, Mrs Christian Nimmo, when his brother who was mad, inherrited the title.
18th Century, Wars of Spanish Succession & Jacobite Uprisings
War of the Spanish SuccessionAt the beginning of the 18th Century the Clan Forrester fought for the British Government during the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. The chief who was the fifth Lord Forrester was Colonel George Forrester of the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
and Life Guards
Life Guards (British Army)
The Life Guards is the senior regiment of the British Army and with the Blues and Royals, they make up the Household Cavalry.They originated in the four troops of Horse Guards raised by Charles II around the time of his restoration, plus two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards which were raised some...
. The Clan Forrester fought against the French at the Battle of Oudenarde
Battle of Oudenarde
The Battle of Oudenaarde was a key battle in the War of the Spanish Succession fought on 11 July 1708 between the forces of Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire on the one side and the French on the other...
in 1708 and the Battle of Malplaquet
Battle of Malplaquet
The Battle of Malplaquet, fought on 11 September 1709, was one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession, which opposed the Bourbons of France and Spain against an alliance whose major members were the Habsburg Monarchy, Great Britain, the United Provinces and the Kingdom of...
in 1709.
Jacobite Uprisings
During the Jacobite Uprisings of the 18th century the Clan Forrester supported the British Government. The Clan Forrester fought and helped defeat the Jacobites at the Battle of Preston
Battle of Preston (1715)
The Battle of Preston , also referred to as the Preston Fight, was fought during the Jacobite Rising of 1715 ....
in 1715.
Revolutionary War
In 1776 William Forrester was an infantry man in King George's Army when England tried to regain control of the thirteen colonies. After the Revolutionary War had ended, William Forrester was declared AWOL by England's Army and he settled in the newly formed United States of America. William's son John Forrester would go on to found the first protestant church in Oneida.
Castles and Seats
Castles and seats of the Clan Forrester have included Corstorphine Castle and Torwood CastleTorwood Castle
Torwood Castle is a castle ruin near the village of Torwood, in the Falkirk Council area of central Scotland.It has been estimated as being built around 1566 for Sir Alexander Forrester. It was once the seat of Clan Forrester. The castle was built by the Lords Forrester, who supplied the Crown with...
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Clan Profile
- Motto: Blaw, hunter, Blaw Thy Horn.
- Crest: A hound's head erased Proper collared Gules.
- Patron: Earl of Veralum, 16th Lord Forrester of Corstorphine.
- Arms: Argent, three bugle horns Sable, garnished Vert and stringed Gules.
- Supporters: Dexter, a ratchhound Proper, colared Gules; sinister a ratchhound Proper, collared Gules.http://www.forresterfamily.org/index.php?template=beginnings