Clan Sinclair

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Sinclair Crest

Sinclair Castle as seen today

Sinclair Castle drawn in 1821

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How Sinclair Castle also known as Girnigoe Castle may have once looked

History

Clan Sinclair was a Highland Scottish clan located at the very northern tip of Scotland.

St. Clare in Pont d'Eveque in Normandy is generally thought to be the birthplace of this great northern clan.

The family received a grant of the Barony of Roslin in Midlothian during the twelfth century. Through marriage, the family obtained the Earldom of Orkney, and in the next century received land in Caithness. The earldom or kingdom of Orkney was later resigned by order of James III.

The chief of clan Sinclair at this time split the family lands, giving the lands of Caithness to his elder son, and the lands at Roslin to his younger son. It was around this point that the spelling "Sinclair" came into general use, although the Earls of Roslin still prefer to use the older form of "St. Clare".

The Earls of Caithness engaged in a long succession of feuds with their neighbours and within the family. This resulted in the 4th Earl imprisoning his son in Girnigoe Castle, where he starved to death.

Much of the Sinclair lands in Caithness had to be sold off to pay debts. Within the family, rights to estates were disputed and culminated in a battle between the Sinclairs and the Campbells on the banks of Altimarlech, near Wick.

Castle Sinclair/Girnigoe Castle

In the 15th century the Sinclairs were granted the earldom of Caithness, but lost it in the 17th century when Sir George Sinclair, the sixth earl, who had been forced to sell off most of the family lands, died without issue. Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy was the chief mortgagee of the Sinclair estates and he promptly married Sir George's widow and claimed the earldom for himself. This did not go down well with the rest of the Sinclair family and George Sinclair of Keiss besieged and captured Girnigoe Castle, which was claimed by the Campbells. The Campbells had swift revenge at the bloody battle of Altimarlech, where so many Sinclairs were killed that the Campbells were able to cross the river without getting their feet wet. Clearly, however, the Sinclairs had influence in high places as only a few years later, in 1681, they regained the earldom by an order of Parliament.

Girnigoe Castle, dramatically situated on the cliffs just outside Wick, was one of the main Sinclair strongholds. Although now ruined, it is well worth a visit and it still contains both a secret chamber in the vaulting of the kitchen ceiling and a grim dungeon where, it is said, the 4th Earl of Caithness imprisoned his son and heir and fed him salt beef so that eventually he died mad with thirst.

Another former Sinclair property is the Castle of Mey, originally known as Barrogill Castle. In the early 1950s the castle was purchased by HM The Queen Mother who changed its name back to Castle of Mey. The castle is reputedly haunted by The Green Lady, ghost of a daughter of the 5th Earl. Having fallen in love with a local ploughman, the unhappy girl was imprisoned in the castle attic by her angry father and, in a fit of despair, she threw herself from a window.

Battles

Castle Alnwick 1093, Northumbria England, Sir William Sinclair led an attack on England at Alnwick Castle in which the Scottish won. After the battle during a ceromony where the keys to the castle were to be handed over to the Scottish King an Englishman speared the Scottish King to death. Today the castle still remains a very impressive fort with a central keep and a massive encirling wall.

Names, Mottos and Badges

• Gaelic Name: Mac na Ceardadh
• Motto: Commit thy work to God
• Badge: Whin
• Lands: Midlothian, Orkney and Caithness
• Origin of Name: Placename, French de Sancto Claro
• Pipe Music: Spaidsearachd Mhic nan Cearda (The Sinclair's March)

Septs of the Clan

• Budge
• Caird
• Clouston
• Clyne
• Linklater
• Lyall
• Mason