With the blood of kings flowing through the Grants' veins, it is little wonder that the Clan's name comes from the French "Grand", depicting the splendour of the Clan Grant's status in the history of Scotland. The Clan is said to descend from the 12th Century warrior Gregor Mor MacGregor, a man whose name in Gaelic means Gregor the Great. Gregor was a direct descendant of King Alpin, whose mighty son Kenneth Macalpin holds the proud honour of becoming the first King of the Scots and Picts during the 9th Century. The Clan soon prospered, and by the 13th Century the Grants possessed considerable lands in Stratherick. In these early times the Clan's name was often spelled "le Grand", a translation of the Gaelic "Mor" into the tongue of the Norman nobility that had begun to settle in the northern territories.
The Grants soon found favour with the Crown of Scotland, supporting King Robert the Bruce in his quest for Scottish independence. After the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, where the English overlords were driven from Scottish soil, the Grants fortunes increased considerably. Clan Grant's lands swelled to include Glenmoriston and Glen Urquhart on the banks of Loch Ness. The Clan's Strathspey lands are renowned for their fertility, and the Grants' cattle and produce soon proved to be the key to their prosperity. In 1493 the Crown erected the Grants' lands into the free barony of Freuchie. It was on these lands that the Grants built Castle Freuchie (later to be named Castle Grant) in 1536. King James V rewarded the Grants' loyalty to the Crown by exempting the Grant Chief from the jurisdiction of all royal courts except the Supreme Court in Edinburgh. This charter was enhanced in the late 17th Century when Ludovick Grant, 8th Laird of Freuchie, was granted a regality over the barony of Freuchie. This meant that the Grant lands were treated almost as a separate kingdom, with the Chief having the right to administer justice and punish wrongdoers. The Laird's power was such that he could even control such commercial activities as the regulation of weights and measures. However, the regality was abolished with all other heritable jurisdiction in the wake of the Jacobite defeat of 1746.
The Grants continued to be prominent in Scottish affairs, and active in the promotion of their lands. Determined to maintain the Clan's wealth and power, the Grants embarked on an ambitious modernisation programme for their lands in the late 18th Century. Factories and mills were established, and the Grants built a new town of Granton-on-Spey to contain their industries. Honours continued to befall the Grants, gaining the earldoms of Seafield and Findlater, with the Grant chiefs even acquiring a seat in the House of Lords during the 19th Century. The Clan Grant crest is of a burning hill, which is thought to be Craigellachie, "the rock of alarm", a prominent feature near Avimore. Chiefs would often light a fire on such a landmark to summon the Clansfolk during times of crisis. Indeed, the Clan Grant's war-cry is "Stand fast, Craigellachie". The Clan motto simply reads "Stand fast". The 32nd Chief of Clan Grant is Sir Patrick Grant of Grant who resides at Elms Cottage in Sussex, England.
Your ancestral
Grant crest ring is a very powerful emblem of your heritage.
A true family heirloom, to be cherished for centuries by Your descendants.
