Clan Elphinstone is a

Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 130 - 131.

History

Origins of the clan

The 'de Erth' family took their name from the lands of Airth which lie close to the barony of Plean in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

. This family probably erected the first Plean Castle. The de Erth family ended in an heiress, and lands that were acquired by her husband near

Tranent Tranent is a town in East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), in the south-east of Scotland. Tranent lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies south of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road that r ...

near

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

were probably named after the heiress's family. The name first appears in about 1235 in East Lothian in a deed by Alanus de Swinton in which a mention is made of the name 'de Elfinstun'. It is likely that de Swinton's son, John, who owned the lands, went on to become John de Elfinstun. There is a family tradition however, that claims that the family are descended from Flemish knights (or one knight) called Helphenstein. Another theory suggests that the name is derived from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''Alpins tun'' ("the farmstead of Alpin").

14th, 15th and 16th centuries

Sir John de Elfinstun married Margaret of Seton who was a niece of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

. One of John's descendants was William Elfinstun who became rector of Kirkmichael (St. Michael's Church) in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. William studied Civil and Canon Law in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and he eventually became Professor of Law at that university. He also became

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

in 1484 and later Lord High Chancellor of Scotland. William later obtained a bull from

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

in 1494 for founding the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. A cousin of bishop William was Sir Alexander Elphinstone who was created Lord Elphinstone by

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

. Alexander and the king were together killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Alexander's son, another Alexander Elphinstone, was killed at the

Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, ...

in 1547. In 1599 the fourth Lord Elphinstone was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Scotland.

18th century and Jacobite risings

A cadet branch of the Clan Elphinstone were the Lords Balmerino. They were staunch Jacobites and the sixth Lord Balmerino was captured after the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

and beheaded in August 1746. The eleventh Lord Elphinstone was lieutenant governor of Edinburgh Castle.

19th and 20th centuries

One of the eleventh Lord's younger brothers was George Keith Elphinstone who was a distinguished naval officer. He served on ships that protected the British shipping off the east coast of America. He was created Baron Keith which was promoted to the rank of Viscount in 1814. The Viscount's nephew was William George Elphinstone who was a colonel at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

in 1815. He was later promoted to commander-in-chief of the Bengal army in 1837 and led the disastrous Afghan campaign of 1841.

Clan Chief

The present Chief of Clan Elphinstone is Alexander Lord Elphinstone who succeeded his father in 1994 at the age of 14.

Clan Castles

* Elphinstone Tower, East Lothian * Elphinstone Tower, Falkirk * Plean Castle

References

External links

https://web.archive.org/web/20070314000845/http://www.myclan.com/clans/Elphinstone_33/default.php
{{Scottish clans Boars in heraldry Elphinstone Scottish Lowlands