Clan Carmichael
Encyclopedia
Origins of the clan
The name Carmichael originally comes from lands in LanarkshireLanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
which were granted to Sir James Douglas
James Douglas, Lord of Douglas
Sir James Douglas , , was a Scottish soldier and knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence.-Early life:...
of Clan Douglas
Clan Douglas
Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...
in 1321, and let by his nephew William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas
William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas
William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas was a Scottish magnate.-Early Life:William Douglas was the son of Sir Archibald Douglas and Beatrice Lindsay, and nephew of "Sir James the Good", Robert the Bruce's trusted deputy...
to Sir John Carmichael between 1374 and 1384.d
The name is also used to anglicise MacIlleMhicheil
Anglo-Scottish border conflicts
The Carmichaels were strong supporters of the Clan DouglasClan Douglas
Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...
during their struggles for ascendancy, and were with them, fighting the English at the Battle of Otterburn
Battle of Otterburn
The Battle of Otterburn took place on the 5 August 1388, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scottish and English.The best remaining record of the battle is from Jean Froissart's Chronicles in which he claims to have interviewed veterans from both sides of the battle...
in 1388 when the Scots defeated Henry 'Hotspur', Earl of Northumberland.
15th century
The Carmichaels were part of the Scottish Army sent to aid the French against English invasion, and at the Battle of Beauge in 1421 which was part of the Hundred Years' WarHundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
. Tradition relates, Sir John Carmichael unseated the English commander, Clarence
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, KG , also known as Thomas Plantagenet, was the second son of King Henry IV of England and his first wife, Mary de Bohun. He was born before 25 November 1387 as on that date his father's accounts note a payment made to a woman described as his nurse...
, in so doing broke his spear. This event, according to tradition, gained the Carmichaels their crest of a broken spear.
16th century
Katherine, daughter of Carmichael of Meadowflat, became a mistress of James V of ScotlandJames V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
and bore him a son who thus became half-brother to the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1546 Peter Carmichael of Balmedie was one of the murderers of the infamous Cardinal Beaton, and for his crime was sent to the 'galleys' where he shared penance with John Knox, 'father' of Protestantism in Scotland. Also Sir John Carmichael
Sir John Carmichael
Sir John Carmichael, was the Keeper of Liddesdale.He was appointed warden of the Scottish West March, and was to make truce with the English Warden....
, was the keeper of Liddesdale
Liddesdale
Liddesdale, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, a distance of...
, and commander of the Scots in the Raid of the Redeswire
Raid of the Redeswire
The Raid of the Redeswire was a border skirmish between England and Scotland on July 7, 1575 which took place at the Cheviot pass which enters Redesdale, between the English Warden of the Middle Marches; Sir John Forster, Sir George Heron, Keeper of Redesdale and the Keeper of Liddesdale as well as...
.
17th century and Civil War
Carmichaels were on both sides during Wars of the Three KingdomsWars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
and English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Lord Carmichael stood on the side of King Charles I but two of his sons fought for the parliamentarians while the other two were Royalists. The brothers were reunited tragically at the Battle of Marston Moor
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince...
in 1644, where one of the royalist sons, John Carmichael was killed fighting against his own elder brothers, one of whom commanded the Clydesdale Regiment.
In 1647 Sir James Carmichael became Lord Carmichael and his son became Earl of Hyndford
Earl of Hyndford
Earl of Hyndford was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1701 for John Carmichael, 2nd Lord Carmichael, Secretary of State from 1696 to 1707. He was made Lord Carmichael and Viscount of Inglisberry and Nemphlar at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland...
in 1701. The principal family became allied to the Clan Anstruther
Clan Anstruther
Clan Anstruther is a Scottish clan from Anstruther in Fife, in the east of Scotland.-Origin of name:From the town of Anstruther, which was adopted as a familial name.-Origins of the Clan:...
by the marriage of Lady Margaret, daughter of the 2nd Earl, to Sir John Anstruther whose descendants inherited the Carmichael lands on the death of the 6th Earl of Hyndford in 1817. This family then took the name Carmichael – Anstruther which they continued until the succession of the present chief who resumed the family name in 1980.
Clan chief
The last direct male descendant of the senior branch of the family was Andrew Carmichael. He was the sixth Earl of Hyndford, 7th Lord Carmichael, 18th Baron and 23rd Chief of the Clan Carmichael who died unmarried in 1817.The estate then passed to a direct descendant in the female line of the senior branch, while the chiefship passed to a direct male descendant of the Balmedie branch. In 1980, Richard Carmichael was a 32 year old aspiring accountant residing in New Zealand. Upon the death of his cousin Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther, the 25th Baron of Carmichael, he learned of his inheritance of the Barony of Carmichael.
The previous (29th) Chief, Evelyn George Carmichael of the Balmedie line, had died in 1959 so that the chiefship had become dormant. He had three daughters and Richard petitioned the Court of the Lord Lyon with the support of the eldest daughter, Hermione Colville, and was officially recognized in 1981 as both the 30th Chief of the Name and Arms, and the 26th Baron of Carmichael, by virtue of his being descended through the female line of James, second Earl of Hyndford and third Lord Carmichael. Thus, Richard reunited the Barony and the chiefship which had been separated since Andrew’s death in 1817.
Clan Castles
Castles belonging to the Carmichaels included Maudslie castle, Eastend, Carmichael houseCarmichael House
Carmichael House, known also as Raines-Carmichael House, Raines-Miller-Carmichael House or Cadwalader Raines House, is a Greek Revival mansion in Macon, Georgia, United States. It was built in 1848....
, Crawford Castle
Crawford Castle
Crawford Castle, substantially in ruins, is located on the north bank of the River Clyde, around half a mile north of Crawford, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The ruins stand on an earlier motte and bailey earthwork. The castle was formerly known as Lindsay Tower, after its former owners, the Lindsay...
, Castlecraig
Castle Craig Hospital
Castle Craig Hospital is a residential hospital located in the Scottish Borders south of Edinburgh. It is the largest addiction treatment hospital in the UK and since its founding in 1988 it has treated over 10,000 patients...
and Fenton Tower.