Clan Urquhart

Clan Urquhart is a highland Scottish clan originating in the Black Isle, a peninsula located in the Ross and Cromarty district of Scotland. It is believed that the surname Urquhart is derived from a Gaelic place-name in Ross-shire. According to clan legend, William de Urchard, the first chief of clan Urquhart, was said to have defended the lands of Cromarty, from supporters of the English Crown, during the Scottish War of Independence in the early 14th century.

The clan’s motto is Meane Weil Speak Weil And Doe Weil, which translates into “Mean, speak and do well”, and the clans crest features a naked lady holding a sword in her right hand and a palm sapling in her left.

The clan’s historic seat is Castle Craig located on the north shore of the Black Isle. The castle was built in the 16th century and remains the seat of the clan. In July, 2014 The clan’s 28th chief, Colonel Wilkins Fisk Urquhart, gifted the castle to the Clan Urquhart Foundation who agreed to begin the process of preserving the castle against further deterioration.

In 1898 the Clan Chief, Major Beauchamp Urquhart was killed while serving in the Sudan, leaving no heir to the chief-ship. The Urquhart clan was left without a chief until 1959 when Wilkins Fisk Urquhart, of the Urquharts of Braelangswell, was recognized as the rightful chief.

The Clan Urquhart association is an international organization that was formed in May of 1976 to promote and cultivate a kinship among Urquhart’s and descendants of the Urquhart clan. Branches have been formed in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia & New Zealand.