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{{Short description|Lowland Scottish clan}}
{| class="toccolours" style="float:right;margin:0 0 1em 1em;width:25em;font-size:90%;clear:right;" cellspacing="5"
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
|-
{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;font-size:larger;" | '''Barclay'''
{{Infobox clan
|-
| image badge = Clan_Barclay_Badge.jpg
| colspan="2" style="padding:1em 0;text-align:center;" | [[Image:BarclayCrest.jpg
| clan name = Clan Barclay
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
| chiefs crest = (On a chapeau doubled Ermine) a hand holding a dagger Proper.proper.<ref name="history"/>
| '''[[Motto]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | ''Aut agere aut mori'' (Either to do or to die).
| chiefs motto = ''Aut agere aut mori'' ([[Latin]]): ("Either action or death")<ref name="history"/>
| region = [[Scottish Lowlands|Lowlands]]
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
| district = [[Aberdeenshire]]
| '''Origins'''
| origins =
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | de Berchelai – possibly an Anglo-Saxon version of the Norman French beaulee – of the beautiful meadow.
| image arms = Barclay of that Ilk arms.svg
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
| chiefs name = Peter Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that Ilk
|'''[[Scottish_Gaelic_language|Gaelic]] name(s)'''
| chiefs title = [[Chief of the Name and Arms]] of Barclay.
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | {{{gaelic names}}}
| seat = [[Towie Barclay Castle]], [[Aberdeenshire]]
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
| historic seat =
|'''Branches'''
| gaelic names =
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Towie Barclay
| septs = Ardrossan,<ref name="genealogy">[http://www.clanbarclay.org/genealogy.htm Clan Barclay Genealogy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708130749/http://www.clanbarclay.org/genealogy.htm |date=8 July 2007 }} Retrieved 27 July 2007.</ref> Barckley,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barckly,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barclaye,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barclet,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barclye,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barcula,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barkla,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barklaw,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barklay,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barkley,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barkly,<ref name="genealogy"/> Barraclough,<ref name="genealogy"/> Berkley,<ref name="genealogy"/> Berclay,<ref name="genealogy"/> Bercley,<ref name="genealogy"/> Berclie,<ref name="genealogy"/> Berekele,<ref name="genealogy"/> Berkeley,<ref name="genealogy"/> Tolley,<ref name="genealogy"/> Tollie,<ref name="genealogy"/> Towie,<ref name="genealogy"/> Towy,<ref name="genealogy"/> Tullie.<ref name="genealogy"/>
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
| branches = Barclay of Barclay (chiefs)<br>[[Barclay de Tolly (Russian nobility)|Barclay de Tolly]] (Russian nobility)
|'''[[Sept (social)|Sept]](s)'''
}}
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" |


{{Infobox tartan
*Bercley
| name = Clan Barclay
*Barclay
| image = Barclay_Tartan.jpg
*Berclay
| style =Ancient Hunting
*Berkele
| sett =
*Barclye
| image2 =
*Berkeley
| caption2 =
*Berklaw
| STA = 705
*Barckley
| STWR = 705
*Barkla
| SRTref = 215
*Barklay
}}
*Barkley
{{Infobox tartan
*Barcula
| name = Clan Barclay
*Barculay
| image = Barclay_Dress_Tartan.jpg
*Bercula
| style =Dress Tartan
*Barckly
| sett =
*Barclaye
| image2 =
*Towy
| caption2 = Barclay Dress Tartan
*Towie
| STA = 1879
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
| STWR = 1879
|'''[[Coat of arms|Arms]]'''
| SRTref = 214
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | A hand holding a dagger proper (on a chapeau Azure doubled Ermine).
}}
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
'''Clan Barclay''' ({{Audio|Barclay2.ogg|listen}}) is a [[Scottish clan]] of the [[Scottish Lowlands]].
|'''[[Tartan]](s)'''
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | {{{tartans}}}
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
|'''Plant badge'''
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | {{{plant badge}}}
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
|'''Clan chieftain'''
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Peter C Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that ilk. He resides in London.
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
|'''Clan seat(s)'''
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | Towie Barclay castle
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"
|'''[[Website]]'''
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | [http://www.clanbarclay.org/ Clan Barclay]
|}


'''Clan Barclay''' is a [[Scottish clan]] which dates back to the time of [[William I of England]].
==History==
==History==
===Origins of the Clan===
The Norman family de Berchelai arrived in England with William the Conqueror. This same family built Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire in [[1153]]. Roger de Berchelai is mentioned in the Domesday Book as is his son, John, listing them as owning twenty hamlets. In [[1069]] John left Gloucestershire for Scotland in the retinue of Margaret, sister of Edgar the Aetheling, later St Margaret. Margaret married King Malcolm III of Scotland who granted John de Berchelai the lands of Towie in Aberdeenshire and the title of Barclay of the ilk. Other members of the family settled in Mathers, Gartley and Pierston as well as places such as Brechin, Banff, Collairnie and Stonehaven.
The clan forged strong alliances and took influential positions in national affairs. Between the years [[1165]] and [[1189]], Sir Walter de Berkeley, Gartley III, Lord Redcastle and Inverkeillor, was Great Chamberlain of Scotland under [[William I of Scotland]].


===14th Century===
===Origins of the clan===


Since the eighteenth century, Barclay historians, noted for their low level in [[medieval]] scholarship,<ref name="KofScots331-334"/>{{Full citation needed|date=December 2023}} have assumed the Scottish family Barclay (de Berchelai) is a branch of one of the [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] [[Berkeley family]] of [[Berkeley, Gloucestershire]]. However, the link between the Scottish and English families is disputed.<ref name="KofScots331-334">''The Kingdom of the Scots'', p.331-334.</ref> The ''Collins Scottish Clan Encyclopedia'' agrees that the Barclays came over from [[France]] during the Norman conquest and that they settled in Gloucestershire, [[England]] where, as the Earls of Berkeley, they built [[Berkeley Castle]] in 1153.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay">{{cite book |last1=Way |first1=George of Plean |last2=Squire |first2=Romilly of Rubislaw |author-link2=Romilly Squire of Rubislaw |author-link1=George Way of Plean |year=1994 |title=Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia |location=[[Glasgow]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] (for the [[Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs]]) |isbn=0-00-470547-5 |pages=72–73}}</ref> Some of the family moved north to [[Scotland]] where they settled in [[Aberdeenshire]] and [[Fife]].<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/>
In [[1351]] Alexander de Berkeley, Gartley IX, became Mathers I through marriage to Katherine Keith, sister to the Earl of Marischal. Alexander, their son, was the first to adopt the name Barclay as a family name.


An old family tradition is that the Scottish family is descended from John de Berkeley, who was the son of Roger de Berkeley, provost of Berkeley, and went to Scotland in 1069 with [[St Margaret of Scotland|St Margaret]].<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/><ref>[http://www.clanbarclay.org/?page_id=8 Clan Barclay: official site]</ref> Another theory is that the clan is descended from a John de Berkeley who went north in 1124 with [[Maud, Countess of Huntingdon|Maud]], queen of [[David I of Scotland|David I]].<ref>[http://www.baronage.co.uk/bphtm-02/moa-07a.html The Misty Origins of the Barclays] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125050122/http://www.baronage.co.uk/bphtm-02/moa-07a.html |date=25 January 2021 }} baronage.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2013.</ref>
===16th Century===


Another theory of the Barclay origin, put forth by the historian [[G. W. S. Barrow]], points to the small village of [[Berkley, Somerset|Berkley]] in [[Somerset]] (in 1086 Berchelei).<ref name="KofScots331-334"/> In 1086 the overlordship of Berkley belonged to Robert Arundel, whose main tenant was a Robert.<ref name="KofScots331-334"/> Arundel's manors included Cary Fitzpaine (in Charlton Mackerell), near [[Castle Cary]]. Cary Fitzpaine seems to have been held by the tenant Robert as well.<ref name="KofScots331-334"/> At the same time as Henry Lovel of Castle Cary first appears in Scotland, there appear the names of Godfrey de Arundel and Robert and Walter de Berkeley.<ref name="KofScots331-334"/>
Sir George Barclay, Gartley XIX, was Steward to the household of [[Mary I of Scotland]] .


The most recent work on the family rejects previous ideas and instead proposes that there were two migrations of Barclays.<ref name="EarHouBerk">Barclay, T (2017). "The Earlier House of Berkeley: A Revised History". ''Foundations''. 9: 47-70.</ref><ref name="FirBerkScot">Barclay, T (2017). "The First Berkeleys in Scotland". ''The Scottish Genealogist''. LXIV (3): 83-97.</ref><ref name="OrScotBarcI">Barclay, T (2018). "The Origin of the Scottish Barclays: Part I". ''The Scottish Genealogist''. LXV (1): 12-25.</ref> The first of these involved a younger son of the original English family moving to Scotland in the first half of the twelfth century, while a second migration occurred around 1220. Only a distant kinship existed between these separate branches of the Scottish Barclays in the early thirteenth century, and the original family, including such notables as Walter de Berkeley, [[Chamberlain of Scotland]],<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> had become extinct in the male line around 1200.<ref name="FirBerkScot"/> Charters from the reign of [[William the Lion]] show that the king granted the estates of [[Laurencekirk]] and [[Fordoun]] to Humphrey son of Theobald, in right of his wife Agatha. Agatha was herself a "de Berkeley" and her husband and children adopted her surname, but only her daughter survived into adulthood.<ref name="KofScots331-334"/> A charter preserves Humphrey's father's surname as "de Adevil(l)e".<ref name="KofScots331-334"/> This was about two decades before Roger de Berkeley, younger brother of Henry de Berkeley, lord of Dursley, married a Scottish heiress and became the ancestor of the succeeding Barclay families.<ref name="OrScotBarcI"/>
===17th Century===


Both branches of Scottish Barclays soon established themselves in strong positions in land, offices and alliances.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> By 1171 Sir Walter de Berkeley was [[Chamberlain of Scotland]].<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> Sir David Barclay was a close associate of king [[Robert the Bruce]], took part in the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]] and was present at most of his battles, most notably the [[Battle of Methven]] where he was captured.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> In more modern times, the descendants of the Barclay of Mathers line were noted for producing field marshals, [[Quakers]] and bankers.<ref name="KofScots331-334"/>
During the [[seventeenth century]] another Sir George Barclay was second in command of [[James IV of Scotland]]&#8217;s Highland forces and a major branch of the family was established at Urie, near Stonehaven in Kincardineshire.


===17th century===
===The Thirty Years War and The Civil War===
In the seventeenth century one branch of the Clan Barclay established themselves at [[Ury House|Urie]], near [[Stonehaven]] in [[Kincardineshire]].<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> [[David Barclay (Quaker)|Colonel David Barclay]], the first Laird of Urie, was a [[Mercenary|soldier of fortune]] who fought for [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]].<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> David Barclay attained the rank of major and returned to Scotland when the civil war broke out.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> During the civil war in Scotland he commanded a regiment of horse fighting for the king.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> He retired in 1647 but after the [[Restoration (1660)]] he was imprisoned in [[Edinburgh Castle]] on a charge of hostility to the government but was later released.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> While in prison he was converted into a [[Quakers|Quaker]] by the Laird of Swinton who was also a prisoner.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> His son, [[Robert Barclay]], was also a Quaker and published ''An Apology for the true Christian Divinity as the same is held forth and preached by the people called in scorn Quakers'' in 1675.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> Robert Barclay's second son, David Barclay, founded [[Barclays Bank]].<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/>


Another branch of the Clan Barclay, the Barons of Towie, were involved in shipping trade in the 17th century between Scotland and [[Scandinavia]], and the lands around the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]].<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> In 1621 Sir Patrick Barclay, the seventeenth Baron of Towie, signed a letter of safe conduct for John and Peter Barclay, both merchants in the town of [[Banff, Aberdeenshire]] because they wished to settle in [[Rostock]] in [[Mecklenburg]].
During the [[Thirty Years' War]] the First Laird of Urie, David Barclay, was a major in the service of King [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]]. He returned home when civil war broke out, attaining the rank of colonel in a regiment of horse, serving the king. Following his retirement in [[1647]] he purchased the Urie estate. He was charged with hostility to the government following the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] but was released after pressure from his friends. During his time in detention he was converted to the [[Religious Society of Friends]] by Laird Swinton, who was also imprisoned.


===Napoleonic wars===
The Second Laird of Urie, [[Robert Barclay]], also a [[Quaker]], published an ``Apologia`` in [[1675]] described as ``Explanation and Vindication of the Principles and Doctrines of the People called Quakers``. It was originally written in Latin but was translated into English, Dutch, German, French and Spanish. Barclay&#8217;s Apologia was widely influential, although Quakers were persecuted at the time, and he even attained favour at the royal court. He was friends with well-known Quakers, [[George Fox]] and [[William Penn]] and together created the idea of a city of brotherly love in America, which became [[Philadelphia]]. In [[1682]] Robert was granted 5,000 acres (20 km&sup2;) of land in East [[New Jersey]] by the proprietors of that state (then province) and bestowed upon him the title of governor, a title which he never took up.
{{main|Barclay de Tolly (Russian nobility)}}
Five generations after Peter Barclay, his descendant the [[Russian Empire|Russia]]n [[Field Marshal]] [[Knyaz|Prince]] [[Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly]] was born, in 1761.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> He was made [[Minister of War]] in 1810 and two years later was given command of the [[Russia]]n armies who were fighting against [[Napoleon's invasion of Russia|Napoleon's invasion in 1812]] and in the [[War of the Sixth Coalition]].<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> The appointment of a Scottish commander-in-chief was resented by the nobles of Russia, however his capabilities were respected.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/> He was created a prince by the [[Tsar]] and his memory is still honored in Russia where his portrait hangs in the [[Hermitage Museum]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. He died in 1818.<ref name="Clan.Encyclopedia.Barclay"/>
[[File:Barclay de Tolly.jpg|250px|right|Coat of arms of the Barclay de Tollys]]


===18th Century===
==Clan castles==
Robert&#8217;s second son, David Barclay, became a merchant with not inconsiderable wealth. Through his second wife, he acquired premises in Lomard Street which became the site of [[Barclays Bank]]. The strict Quaker principles remained in the family and when David obtained an estate in Jamaica he freed the slaves and taught them trades. He entertained King [[George III of the United Kingdom]] at his London home and was excused the requirement to kneel before their monarch due to their Quaker beliefs. He was offered a knighthood, which he refused, and the chance to advance his son at court. He also refused this, explaining that he preferred &#8216;to bring up his sons in honest trade&#8217;.


*[[Towie Barclay Castle]] was formerly owned by the Barclays.<ref name="history">[http://www.clanbarclay.org/history.htm Clan Barclay History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704062535/http://www.clanbarclay.org/history.htm |date=4 July 2008 }} Retrieved 28 July 2007.</ref>
The Barclay clan always maintained trade links with Scandinavia and the Baltic states through their coastal lands. In [[1621]] John and Peter Barclay, merchants of Banff, wished to settle in [[Rostock]] in [[Livonia]]. Sir Patrick Barclay, Baron of Towie signed a letter of safe conduct in their favour, a letter which remains in the hands of the Barclay descendants in [[Riga]] to this day. The brothers traded in silk and became burghers of the town. Their direct descendant was Field Marshall Prince [[Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly]], Count of the Holy Roman Empire, born in [[1761]].
*[[Balvaird Castle]] was formerly owned by the Barclays.


==Chief==
===Napolionic Wars===
The clan is currently without a chief. The last chief was Peter Charles Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that Ilk.<ref>[http://www.burkes-peerage.net/familyhomepage.aspx?FID=0&FN=BARCLAYOFTOWIEBARCLAYANDOFTHATILK burkes-peerage.net Barclay] Burkes Peerage</ref> He died on 2 November 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=Peter Charles Barclay, The Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that ilk |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/births-marriages-and-deaths-december-4-2023-mqwhk8z0w |access-date=4 December 2023 |work=The Times |date=4 December 2023}}</ref>


==Notes==
He was made Russian Minister of War in [[1810]], rising to Commander of the Russian Armies in [[1812]] fighting against [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. Instead of pursuing a campaign of direct confrontation with the French, he chose a [[scorched earth]] policy which starved the French army as it passed through the country towards [[Moscow]]. The plan was a resounding success and the French retreat from Moscow in 1812 was a major factor in his ultimate defeat. The Russian nobility resented the appointment of a Scottish commander-in-chief, but his ability was undeniable and the Tsar created him a prince in [[1815]]. [[George III of the United Kingdom]] created him a Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Bath]]. His portrait hangs in the [[Military Gallery]] in [[St Petersburg]].
{{Clan stub}}
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Scottish clans |Barclay]]
==External links==
[[Category:History of Scotland]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060525095129/http://www.clanbarclay.org/ "Official Site of Clan Barclay International"]

{{Scottish clans}}

[[Category:Clan Barclay| ]]
[[Category:Scottish clans|Barclay]]
[[Category:Scottish Lowlands]]

Latest revision as of 01:42, 21 March 2024

Clan Barclay
Crest: (On a chapeau doubled Ermine) a hand holding a dagger Proper.proper.[1]
MottoAut agere aut mori (Latin): ("Either action or death")[1]
Profile
RegionLowlands
DistrictAberdeenshire
Chief
Peter Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that Ilk
Chief of the Name and Arms of Barclay.
SeatTowie Barclay Castle, Aberdeenshire
Septs of Clan Barclay
Ardrossan,[2] Barckley,[2] Barckly,[2] Barclaye,[2] Barclet,[2] Barclye,[2] Barcula,[2] Barkla,[2] Barklaw,[2] Barklay,[2] Barkley,[2] Barkly,[2] Barraclough,[2] Berkley,[2] Berclay,[2] Bercley,[2] Berclie,[2] Berekele,[2] Berkeley,[2] Tolley,[2] Tollie,[2] Towie,[2] Towy,[2] Tullie.[2]
Clan branches
Barclay of Barclay (chiefs)
Barclay de Tolly (Russian nobility)
Clan Barclay Tartan
Clan Barclay tartan
The Clan Barclay tartan in Ancient Hunting colors.
Sett
Tartan registries
Scottish Tartans Authority#705
Scottish Tartans World Register#705
Scottish Register of Tartans entryClan Barclay
Clan Barclay Tartan
Clan Barclay tartan
The Clan Barclay tartan in Dress Tartan colors.
Sett
Tartan registries
Scottish Tartans Authority#1879
Scottish Tartans World Register#1879
Scottish Register of Tartans entryClan Barclay

Clan Barclay (listenⓘ) is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.

History[edit]

Origins of the clan[edit]

Since the eighteenth century, Barclay historians, noted for their low level in medieval scholarship,[3][full citation needed] have assumed the Scottish family Barclay (de Berchelai) is a branch of one of the Anglo-Norman Berkeley family of Berkeley, Gloucestershire. However, the link between the Scottish and English families is disputed.[3] The Collins Scottish Clan Encyclopedia agrees that the Barclays came over from France during the Norman conquest and that they settled in Gloucestershire, England where, as the Earls of Berkeley, they built Berkeley Castle in 1153.[4] Some of the family moved north to Scotland where they settled in Aberdeenshire and Fife.[4]

An old family tradition is that the Scottish family is descended from John de Berkeley, who was the son of Roger de Berkeley, provost of Berkeley, and went to Scotland in 1069 with St Margaret.[4][5] Another theory is that the clan is descended from a John de Berkeley who went north in 1124 with Maud, queen of David I.[6]

Another theory of the Barclay origin, put forth by the historian G. W. S. Barrow, points to the small village of Berkley in Somerset (in 1086 Berchelei).[3] In 1086 the overlordship of Berkley belonged to Robert Arundel, whose main tenant was a Robert.[3] Arundel's manors included Cary Fitzpaine (in Charlton Mackerell), near Castle Cary. Cary Fitzpaine seems to have been held by the tenant Robert as well.[3] At the same time as Henry Lovel of Castle Cary first appears in Scotland, there appear the names of Godfrey de Arundel and Robert and Walter de Berkeley.[3]

The most recent work on the family rejects previous ideas and instead proposes that there were two migrations of Barclays.[7][8][9] The first of these involved a younger son of the original English family moving to Scotland in the first half of the twelfth century, while a second migration occurred around 1220. Only a distant kinship existed between these separate branches of the Scottish Barclays in the early thirteenth century, and the original family, including such notables as Walter de Berkeley, Chamberlain of Scotland,[4] had become extinct in the male line around 1200.[8] Charters from the reign of William the Lion show that the king granted the estates of Laurencekirk and Fordoun to Humphrey son of Theobald, in right of his wife Agatha. Agatha was herself a "de Berkeley" and her husband and children adopted her surname, but only her daughter survived into adulthood.[3] A charter preserves Humphrey's father's surname as "de Adevil(l)e".[3] This was about two decades before Roger de Berkeley, younger brother of Henry de Berkeley, lord of Dursley, married a Scottish heiress and became the ancestor of the succeeding Barclay families.[9]

Both branches of Scottish Barclays soon established themselves in strong positions in land, offices and alliances.[4] By 1171 Sir Walter de Berkeley was Chamberlain of Scotland.[4] Sir David Barclay was a close associate of king Robert the Bruce, took part in the Wars of Scottish Independence and was present at most of his battles, most notably the Battle of Methven where he was captured.[4] In more modern times, the descendants of the Barclay of Mathers line were noted for producing field marshals, Quakers and bankers.[3]

17th century[edit]

In the seventeenth century one branch of the Clan Barclay established themselves at Urie, near Stonehaven in Kincardineshire.[4] Colonel David Barclay, the first Laird of Urie, was a soldier of fortune who fought for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.[4] David Barclay attained the rank of major and returned to Scotland when the civil war broke out.[4] During the civil war in Scotland he commanded a regiment of horse fighting for the king.[4] He retired in 1647 but after the Restoration (1660) he was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle on a charge of hostility to the government but was later released.[4] While in prison he was converted into a Quaker by the Laird of Swinton who was also a prisoner.[4] His son, Robert Barclay, was also a Quaker and published An Apology for the true Christian Divinity as the same is held forth and preached by the people called in scorn Quakers in 1675.[4] Robert Barclay's second son, David Barclay, founded Barclays Bank.[4]

Another branch of the Clan Barclay, the Barons of Towie, were involved in shipping trade in the 17th century between Scotland and Scandinavia, and the lands around the Baltic.[4] In 1621 Sir Patrick Barclay, the seventeenth Baron of Towie, signed a letter of safe conduct for John and Peter Barclay, both merchants in the town of Banff, Aberdeenshire because they wished to settle in Rostock in Mecklenburg.

Napoleonic wars[edit]

Main article: Barclay de Tolly (Russian nobility)

Five generations after Peter Barclay, his descendant the Russian Field Marshal Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly was born, in 1761.[4] He was made Minister of War in 1810 and two years later was given command of the Russian armies who were fighting against Napoleon's invasion in 1812 and in the War of the Sixth Coalition.[4] The appointment of a Scottish commander-in-chief was resented by the nobles of Russia, however his capabilities were respected.[4] He was created a prince by the Tsar and his memory is still honored in Russia where his portrait hangs in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. He died in 1818.[4]

Coat of arms of the Barclay de Tollys
Coat of arms of the Barclay de Tollys

Clan castles[edit]

Chief[edit]

The clan is currently without a chief. The last chief was Peter Charles Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that Ilk.[10] He died on 2 November 2023.[11]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Clan Barclay History Archived 4 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Clan Barclay Genealogy Archived 8 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i The Kingdom of the Scots, p.331-334.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Way, George of Plean; Squire, Romilly of Rubislaw (1994). Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. Glasgow: HarperCollins (for the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-00-470547-5.
  5. ^ Clan Barclay: official site
  6. ^ The Misty Origins of the Barclays Archived 25 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine baronage.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  7. ^ Barclay, T (2017). "The Earlier House of Berkeley: A Revised History". Foundations. 9: 47-70.
  8. ^ a b Barclay, T (2017). "The First Berkeleys in Scotland". The Scottish Genealogist. LXIV (3): 83-97.
  9. ^ a b Barclay, T (2018). "The Origin of the Scottish Barclays: Part I". The Scottish Genealogist. LXV (1): 12-25.
  10. ^ burkes-peerage.net Barclay Burkes Peerage
  11. ^ "Peter Charles Barclay, The Barclay of Towie Barclay and of that ilk". The Times. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.

External links[edit]

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