Clan Colquhoun: The Lairds of Luss

Overview — a clan and its village

Some clans still hold their ancestral ground, and Clan Colquhoun is one: the Colquhouns of Luss have been the lairds of Luss, on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, since the Middle Ages — and their Luss Estates still own much of the village and shore today. If you’ve paid to park at Luss, you’ve met Clan Colquhoun.

The name & the lands

The clan takes its name from the lands of Colquhoun in Dunbartonshire, granted in the 13th century; the family then acquired Luss by marriage to the heiress of Luss, and the two have been joined ever since. The chief is styled Colquhoun of Luss, and the family seat was Rossdhu (its grounds now the Loch Lomond Golf Club). The clan motto is “Si je puis” — “If I can.”

The Battle of Glen Fruin, 1603

The Colquhouns’ darkest day gave Scotland one of its most notorious feuds. In 1603, in Glen Fruin — the glen just above Luss — the Colquhouns were routed by the MacGregors with heavy loss of life. The Colquhouns carried their bloodied shirts to King James VI in protest, and the king’s response was to proscribe the very name MacGregor — a persecution that lasted nearly two centuries. It’s a grim reminder that the peaceful loch-side you visit today was once fought over in earnest.

Colquhoun country on our travels

• Luss — the clan’s conservation village on Loch Lomond, with Glen Fruin just above.

← Back to Scottish Clans · see also the Castles of Scotland.

Battles — won and lost

The most notable actions the clan fought, and how they ended:

• Glen Fruin (1603) — vs the MacGregors (~140+ Colquhouns killed) — LOST

The Colquhouns were more often Crown-loyal administrators than field commanders — Glen Fruin is the famous fight, the defeat that led to the MacGregors’ proscription.

The clan lands

Orange markers = the clan’s chief castles, seats and territories; where we have a page, they link through.

Sources

• First-hand: our own visits to Luss (own photos)
• Clan Colquhoun — Wikipedia