Clan Corbett, a Scottish clan, is a sept of the Clan Ross. Scottish clans (from Scottish Gaelic clann, "children" give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.
The first Corbet in Scotland came from Shropshire, and settled in Teviotdale under Earl David in the first quarter of the 12th century. Shropshire (ˈʃrɒpʃɪə/ /-ʃə alternatively known as Salop or abbreviated in print only Shrops, is a county in the A river of the Scottish Borders, the River Teviot (pronounced locally) rises in the western foothills of Comb Hill on the border of Dumfries and Galloway. He is said to have obtained the manor of Foghou which he held as a vassal under the Earls of Dunbar. The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, was a the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early
Robert Corbet appeared in Scotland in about 1116 as one of the retinue of Earl David, who later became King David I. The authoress, Augusta Corbet, who wrote The Family of Corbet - Its Life and Times, says that Robert was the son of Roger and grandson of Hugh. It is said he belonged to the family which held Drayton in Northamptonshire.
Robert Corbet was a witness in the instrument or Inquisition made by David, Prince of Cumberland, into the lands belonging to the old Church of Glasgow, and is also a witness in other deeds of David when he was king of Scotland (1124-53).
- ,'The Cumberland or Cumbria of those days extended to the Clyde, and included Glasgow, which David incorporated into Scotland. David appears to have allotted lands in Roxburghshire to Robert Corbet, where his descendants were 'great lords of several generations.
For many centuries the Corbets held lands in the Scottish Borders and often had divided loyalties between the thrones of Scotland and England, a political necessity in the troubled Border country. By the late 13th century, the Corbets owned land in the Castle Douglas/ Dalbeattie areas in addition to their traditional tenures. A century later, Constantine Corbet owned lands in Fife and a Walter Corbet owned lands around Lochmaben. By the late 16th century, Corbets owned lands in Clydesdale, with Symont Corbet's will showing land held near Hamilton (1574).
In 1745 the Corbetts supported the British Government. When Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in Scotland. Robert Corbet, then provost of Dumfries, rode out with his men to meet him and warned the Prince to stand aside as Dumfries would have nothing to do with him. He apparently returned to Dumfries and locked the gates against the Prince!
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Corbetts were busy in Scotland in a variety of occupations, including shipmasters, tanners, tailors, schoolmasters, weavers, etc. In 1784, James Corbett was a weaver in Larkhall and in Hamilton, other Corbetts were prospering in the late 1700s. Janefield, part of the Tollcross eatate and now a cemetery, was occupied and farmed by a James Corbett in 1751.
Castle
Rowallan Castle was the seat for later chiefs of the Clan Corbett which was originally the seat of the chiefs of Clan Muir. Rowallan Castle is an ancient castle located near Kilmaurs, at NS 4347 4242 about north of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. Clan Muir is an Armigerous Scottish clan, meaning that the clan doesn't have a chief recognized by the Court of the Lord Lyon. [1][2]
Profile
Arms: gules, three lions rampant Argent, armed and langued Azure
Badge: A hand holding a garland of Juniper.
Motto: Spem successus alit (Success nourishes hope)
Tartans: Ross, Ross hunting, Ross dress.
Plant Badge: Juniper
See also
- Scottish clan list of Scottish Clans. Scottish clans (from Scottish Gaelic clann, "children" give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations
- Clan Ross