The Frasers of Philorth are a

Scottish lowlands The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...

family, originally from the Anjou region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Castle Fraser, their family seat, is in Sauchen,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, Scotland. Since the time of

Alexander Fraser, 11th Lord Saltoun Alexander Fraser, 11th Lord Saltoun (March 4, 1604 – August 11, 1693), was a Scottish peer and the 10th Laird of Philorth. Life Fraser was born in 1604 in the young town of Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His father was Alexander Frase ...

, the heads of the Philorth family are the Lords Saltoun. The current head of the Frasers of Philorth is Katharine Fraser, 22nd Lady Saltoun, who is Chief of the Name and Arms of Clan Fraser. The family's arms are "'' azure, three cinquefoils

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

''"—three silver strawberry flowers on a field of blue. The heraldic

cinquefoil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. Potentillas may also be called cinquefoils in English, but they have also been called five fin ...

is a stylized five-point leaf; the cinquefoils which appear on the Fraser of Philorth coat-of-arms are specifically strawberry flowers. Only the Lady or Lord Saltoun is permitted to display these arms plain and undifferenced.

History

Fraserburgh Alexander's grandson, also Alexander, married a daughter of the

Earl of Ross The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland, as well as chief of Clan Ross. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made ...

, acquiring the lands of Philorth in

Buchan Buchan is a coastal district in the north-east of Scotland, bounded by the Ythan and Deveron rivers. It was one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas of Aberdeenshire. Etymology The ge ...

, plus the castle of Cairnbulg, which has been the seat of the Fraser chiefs from that time forward. In 1504, the family purchased a fishing community called Faithlie, by Kinnaird Head. On coming into possession in 1569, Sir Alexander, 8th Lord of Philorth, began to build "a large and beautiful town". He laid the foundation of the Tower of Kynnairdshead, since called the Castle of Fraserburgh, and built a church. They created a

burgh of barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town (burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...

in 1546. In 1592, Alexander was given a charter by James VI for Faithlie. He improved the

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

, making the area a thriving town, which soon became a

free port A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...

and

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

called

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

, a rival of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Around 1596, the family built Pittulie Castle. Fraserburgh was to have had a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, but the religious troubles and competition from

stemmed the town’s growth. By building Fraserburgh Castle the Laird

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

ed himself, and had to sell the Philorth Castle, which passed out of the family for over 300 years until Alexander Fraser, 19th Lord Saltoun, bought it back in 1934. Alexander, 9th Lord of Philorth, married the heiress of the Lord Saltoun, a title borne by the Clan Fraser chiefs since that time. The Chiefship was in dispute between the Frasers of Philorth and another branch, which also came from Tweeddale, the Frasers of Muchalls. In the reign of Charles I, the Frasers supported his rule in Scotland, as his father had granted them the lordship. In the Anglo-Scottish war, the Frasers fought against

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

. This act of rebellion meant that title of Lord Fraser was not long-lived, as many of the Fraser family began immigrating to the Americas during Cromwell's reign as Lord Protector. Many of the 1st Lord Fraser's sons settled in the newly founded colonies of Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland under the name "Frizzell". Many of these descendants married into prominent families in the Colonies, including the Carters of Corotoman, Virginia. As for those who stayed in Scotland, Andrew, the 2nd Lord Fraser, remained in

Kemnay Kemnay may refer to: * Kemnay, Manitoba, a community in Canada *Kemnay, Aberdeenshire Kemnay (Scottish Gaelic language, Gaelic: ''Camnaidh'') is a village west of Aberdeen in Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The village name ''Kemna ...

at Castle Fraser until his death in 1623. His eldest son, the 3rd Lord Fraser,

, and his brothers took part in the 1650 Battle of Dunbar under

David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark ( – ) was a Scottish military officer and peer. During the Thirty Years' War, he joined in the Swedish Army in 1630 and served under Alexander Leslie. Returning to Scotland in the final days of the Bishops' War ...

. One of these brothers, James Fraser, ended up in Massachusetts (US) as "James Frizzell." In 1670, following the ascension of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

, the 3rd Lord Frazer's (11th Lord Saltoun) title was ratified by Parliament. Following the death of the 3rd Lord Fraser in 1693, the title passed to his grandson, William Fraser, 12th Lord Saltoun. The

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

expired with the 4th Lord Fraser, who died in 1716 while on the run as a result of his participation in The Fifteen.

References

External links

Frasers of Philorth from Baronage Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frasers Of Philorth Philorth, Frasers of Fraser of Philorth Fraserburgh Scottish Lowlands