Our Heritage

There is little doubt that ancestors of the Lindsays of Scotland arrived from England. Beyond that various writers have hypothesised their origins as Norman or German, but the latest research strongly suggests Flemish ancestry.

Duke William’s army at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 was supported by a strong Flemish contingent, among them Gilbert de Ghent. As a reward for his support, Gilbert was created Earl of Lincoln and awarded much land in the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Lindsey, in Lincolnshire. Lindissie means Lincoln’s Island and was a jurisdiction within that English shire. Gilbert’s son Sir Walter de Lindissie, “noble and knight”, accompanied David, Earl of Huntingdon and brother of Alexander I, to Scotland to claim his throne.

A charter records that Sir Walter sat as a member of Prince David’s council in the Scottish border area of Cumbria along with other knights in the early part of the 12th century.

Migration of Lindsay ancestors via the County of Flanders (900 AD), and via the administrative area of Lindsay in Lincolnshire (aft. 1066), to Scotland (bef. 1116). (After Lindesay, 2007) 

When Prince David became King of the Scots, he placed these knights as great barons in the power structure. Sir Walter’s great-grandson, Sir William de Lindesay, sat in the Parliament of 1164 and was afterwards a justiciar. He held the lands of Crawford, the earldom of which was to ultimately be the premier title of the chiefs, but he sat in Parliament as Baron of Luffness in East Lothian.

Sir William’s son, David (1), married Marjory, a member of the Scottish royal family and on David’s death in 1214 he was succeeded as third Lord Crawford by his son, Sir David (2), who also inherited the English estates of Limesy and Wolveray. Another of Sir William’s sons, William, was steward to the Steward of Scotland. So it was probably he who adopted the familiar chequered fess of the Lindsays as ‘Arms of Feudal Dependence’ since they mimic the Stewart coat of arms so closely. His son, Sir David (3), acquired the lands of Byres and his son, yet another Sir David (4), was High Chamberlain of Scotland in 1256 and later joined King Louis IX of France on a crusade; he was killed in Egypt in 1268.

Image courtesy of The New World Encyclopaedia Robert the Bruce instructing his soldiers at the Battle of Bannockburn

The crusader’s successor, Sir Alexander Lindsay, fought with King Edward I of England at the battle of Falkirk, but thereafter returned to Scotland to support the Scottish cause. He supported Robert the Bruce in the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, so lost his English properties and saw the imprisonment of his sons. The eldest of his sons, Sir David (5), was later among the signatories of the ‘Declaration of Arbroath’, the 1320 assertion of Scottish independence. Five years later he married Mary, daughter of Lord Alexander Abernethy of that Ilk and it is from this marriage that his descendants quarter the Lindsay arms with those of Abernethy.

Sir David Lindsay (6), grandson of the Arbroath signatory, took part in a famous joust on London Bridge in 1390 in front of King Richard II of England.

Arms of David Lindsay, Duke of Montrose. The Slains Roll, ca. 1567, folio 100/4.

He won so easily that there was a suggestion that he was tied to the saddle – until he jumped off his horse. On the 21st of April 1398 Sir David was proclaimed Earl of Crawford by his brother-in-law, Robert III, in the Parliament held at Perth. At about this time he created a private officer-of-arms, Endure Pursuivant, an appointment which exists to this day over 600 years later. In 1403 Sir David was appointed Lord High Admiral of Scotland. Sir David shared his time between his castle at Finaven and his home in Dundee. At this time the Lindsays possessed more than twenty great baronies and lordships, besides other lands of minor importance.

The Lindsays have been involved in several significant battles over the years. Alexander Lindsay wished to claim the position of “Balie of the Regality” (akin to a magistrate) in Arbroath, a function usually appointed to someone within his mother’s side of the family, the Ogilvys. The result was the Battle of Arbroath, fought in front of the Abbey and through the streets of the town. Alexander’s father, Sir David (7), rode between the two forces in an attempt to call a truce. However, an ill-advised Ogilvy, thinking that this was the start of the Lindsay attack, threw his spear at the Earl. Over 600 were killed in the battle including Sir David. On his untimely death, Alexander became 4th Earl of Crawford.

Arms of Lord Lindsay of the Byres. The Slains Roll, ca. 1567, folio 70.

During the 15th century the Lindsays lost much of their land due to feuding with the Ogilvy family. Alexander Lindsay, the 4th Earl of Crawford, also known as the Tiger Earl or Earl Beardie due to his long black beard, was badly defeated by an Ogilvy and Gordon alliance under the Earl of Huntly, at Brechin in 1452. His son, David (8), was created Duke of Montrose by James III in 1488, but this title was forfeited on the death of the king in the Battle of Sauchieburn in June that year. The title was then returned a year later, but only for the period of the holder’s lifetime. So it was not inherited by his son, John, the 6th Earl of Crawford, who fell in the Battle of Flodden along with the Earls of Argyll, Atholl, Bothwell, Caithness, Cassillis, Erroll, Glencairn, Lennox, Montrose, Morton and Rothes and their king, James IV.

Patrick Lindsay of the Byres also fought at Flodden but was one of the few nobles to survive, only losing an arm in the battle. He was one of the four peers appointed by Parliament in December 1513 to advise the widowed Queen Margaret. His grandson John, 5th Lord Lindsay of the Byres, was present at the death of James V and was one of the nobles to whose charge the infant Mary, Queen of Scots was committed in 1542. He was in command of the Scots forces at the severe defeat of the English at Ancrum Muir, on 6 March 1545. His son Patrick, the 6th Lord, took part in the murder of David Rizzio and challenged Mary’s lover, Bothwell, to mortal combat at Carberry Hill and at Lochleven Castle forced the Queen to then give up her crown. The Lindsays later supported Mary, Queen of Scots and fought for her at the Battle of Langside in 1568.

Arms of David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford 

The battle did not go in the Queen’s favor and she fled to England where she was imprisoned intermittently for 17 years before being executed. It was from this line that the 10th Lord Lindsay was made 1st Earl of Lindsay by King Charles in the 17th century.

Through the centuries, the Lindsays have been eminent in many fields of endeavor. David Lyndsay, Lord Lyon, King at Arms, was also a playwright and poet of the Reformation. His fame is rivaled by that of Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, whose History of Scotland is one of the most valuable Scottish national documents. The Rev. David Lindsay, minister of Leith, became Bishop of Ross in 1600. Patrick Lindsay was Archbishop of Glasgow. David Lindsay, Bishop of Edinburgh, crowned Charles I at the coronation at Holyrood in 1633.

Lady Anne Lindsay, daughter of the 5th Earl of Balcarres, wrote “Auld Robin Gray”, one of the finest Scottish ballads.

In the 17th century the Lindsays were Royalist supporters of King Charles Stuart. Ludovic Lindsay fought for King Charles I and later joined the Marquis of Montrose in Scotland. He died in prison and the title of Earl of Crawford passed to another branch that had been created Earls of Balcarres in 1651 for services during the Civil War. The first Earl of Balcarres became hereditary keeper of Edinburgh Castle and then Secretary of State for Scotland. His son supported the Jacobite Uprising and fought at the Battle of Sherrifmuir in 1715, but the Lindsays did not take part in the later Jacobite Uprising of 1745. The 20th Earl of Crawford raised the Black Watch regiment in 1739, which was originally called the Lindsay-Crawford Regiment. Today, they still stand guard over Edinburgh Castle. Robert Lindsay, cousin to the 26th Earl, was the first recipient of the Victoria Cross.

Lady Anne Lindsay, daughter of the 5th Earl of Balcarres

In heraldry, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The visual depiction of a coat of arms traditionally has considerable latitude in design, while a blazon specifies the essentially distinctive elements; thus it can be said that a coat of arms is defined not by a picture but rather by the wording of its blazon.

Blazon also refers to the specialized language in which a blazon is written, and, as a verb, to the act of writing such a description.

Below is a written description or blazon of the Lindsay Coat of Arms:

The Heraldic Achievement of Robert Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, Chief of Clan Lindsay

These quartered arms date back to the marriage of the 10th Lord Lindsay and feudal Lord of Crawford, Sir David Lindsay of Crawford, to Mary, the daughter of Lord Alexander Abernethy of that Ilk, in 1325.

A heraldic description or blazon of the arms reads:
Quarterly, 1st and 4th Gules, a Fess chequy Argent and Azure (for LINDSAY); 2nd and 3rd Or, a Lion rampant Gules, armed and langued Azure, debruised of a Ribbon in Bend Sable (for ABERNETHY).

Crest: A Swans neck and wings Proper issuant from a Crest Coronet Or

Supporters: Two Lions rampant guardant Gules, armed and langued Azure. The arms in the first and fourth quarters depict a silver and blue check pattern on a red background and in the second and third quarters a red rampant lion with blue tongue and claws on a gold field. Over each lion is a thin black stripe. Supporting the shield on a compartment are two red lions with blue tongues and claws. The crest features a white swan within a gold crest coronet, above a helm and coronet of suitable rank. 

Please NOTE: There are two version of the crest and the coat of arms; one with a demure swan for the people of the clan and one with a confident and authoritative looking swan for the chief.

Titles Held by Our Chief

• Master of Lindsay (1927-1940)
• Lord Balniel (1940-1972)
• Lord Balniel MP (1955-1972)
• The Rt Hon Lord Balniel MP (1972-1974)
• The Rt Hon Lord Balniel (1974-1975)
• The Rt Hon The Lord Balniel, PC
  (January 1975-December 1975)
• The Rt Hon The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, PC (1975-1996)
• The Rt Hon The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, KT, PC (1996-2002)
• The Rt Hon The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, KT, GCVO, PC (2002- )
• Chief of Clan Lindsay (1975-)

A clans crest-badge signifies their allegiance to a specific clan Chief. Those who fought for the Chief wore a belt or strap around their arm with the badge to signify the clan and Chief to whom they are loyal.

All members of the Clan Lindsay Association are encouraged to wear the Clan Lindsay crest-badge with pride.

The Clan Lindsay crest-badge displays the head and wings of a white swan within a crest coronet. 

Etched on the strap is our clan motto: Endure Fort

Latin for ‘Endure with Strength’

The most familiar crest for Crawford is shown. 

Etched on the strap is our clan motto: Tutum Te Rebore Reddam 

Latin for ‘Our strength in exchange for your trust’ 

One of Malcolm’s sons formed the line of the Earls of Fife and they displayed the rampant lion on their Coat of Arms but dropped the royal double tressure.

A younger son of this line formed the line of Abernethy. For their Arms they adopted the rampant lion but it was differenced by adding a diagonal black line across the lion. Around 1325 a lady from the Abernethy line, Maria Abernethy, married Sir David Lindsay of Crawford and brought with her the Arms of Abernethy. David Lindsay’s grandson, also a David Lindsay, became the 151 Earl of Crawford in 1398 and used the combined Coat of Arms quartering the Lindsay of Crawford Arms with those of Abernethy.

All the Earls of Crawford up to the present day have used this Coat of Arms respecting the blood line back to King Malcolm Ill and St Margaret.

So, we know where the lions came from but what of the blue tongues and claws? This is one of the ancient rules of heraldry and is clearly displayed in the “Armorial of Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount”, circa. 1542, from which these images have been copied. As a general rule, beasts of prey will show their claws and tongues in a different colour from the colour of their bodies. Red beasts usually display blue tongues and claws, as can be seen on the current Royal Banner of Scotland, the Scottish Lion Rampant flag.

Have you ever looked closely at the Coat of Arms of our Clan
Chief? In the second and third quarters of his shield there are rampant lions and they have blue tongues and blue claws!

First of all, how do they come to be on Lord Crawford’s Arms? This is a long story back to Malcolm Ill, King of Scots who was married to Margaret, known as Saint Margaret in 1069. The Royal Coat of Arms has a rampant lion surrounded by the double tressure.

The 1500’s - The lands were originally owned by a family who took its name from the lands, “de Auchinleck.” In 1504, the Auchinleck family forfeited the land and King James IV gave the land to Thomas Boswell from Baluto, Fife. The original structure is now in ruins, replaced by four houses built in the 1700’s.

Located nine miles northeast of Dundee, just to the west of the town of Monikie, in Angus, its original builders are not very well known. Affleck Castle was built around 1460, probably by the Auchinleks, who were the hereditary armor-bearers to the powerful Clan Lindsay, Earls of Crawford. The name Auchinleck, pronounced Affleck, is Gaelic and means “Field of Stones”.

Auchinleck (pronounced Affleck) House is located in Ayrshire, about eleven miles east of Ayr and three miles south of Mauchline. It is in a restored condition. 

The 1700’s – Auchinleck House, or “The Place of Auchinleck” as it was once known, was built by Lord Auchinleck, James Boswell, Esq. The Scottish classical-style mansion was designed by Robert Adams, one of Scotland’s most famous architects. The exact year the house was built is not known, but since Lord Auchinleck died in 1782, the estimated year it was built is around 1780. Auchinleck House remained in the Boswell family until it passed through the female lines to the Malahide family.
The house is located between the glen of the Lugar and Dippel Rivers.
The Photo is from Famous Scottish Houses by Thomas Hannan, 1928.

The 1900s - In the 1920’s Talbot de Malahide, the great-great-grandson of James Boswell who built Auchinleck House, sold Auchinleck to another Boswell, Lt. Col. John Douglas Boswell.

Today - The House is now owned and operated by The Landmark Trust, which restores properties of historic and architectural importance and then lets them out for holiday stays.

Balcarres House lies 1km north of the village of Colinsburgh, in the East Neuk of Fife, in eastern Scotland. It is centered on a mansion built in 1595 by John Lindsay (1552–1598), second son of David, 9th Earl of Crawford. The house became the family seat of the Earl of Crawford. The present house is the result of substantial extensions in the early nineteenth century, using part of a fortune made in India, but preserves much of the original mansion. 

Balcarres House is protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.

It commands a view southwards to the Firth of Forth and beyond to Lothian on the opposite shore of the estuary. On a clear day, the skyline of Edinburgh may be seen, 20 miles (32 km) away.

The name Balcarres comes from the Gaelic baile carrach, meaning rough or stony settlement. The house was founded in 1511 by Sir John Stirling of Keir, having acquired the lands from the Scottish Crown upon strict condition of building certain structures and cultivating the land. The L-plan house which he constructed still survives in the center of the much-extended house. In 1587, the house was acquired from Sir John Stirling by John Lindsay, Lord Menmuir (1552–1598), second son of the 9th Earl of Crawford. He also acquired other lands in Fife, which were created into a barony in 1592. He built the original mansion in 1595, three years before his death. This original building was plain in design. It comprised a Z-plan tower house, which itself incorporated an earlier turret. This earlier tower had been built by Sir John Stirling of Keir around 1511. In 1633, King Charles I bestowed the title of "Lord Lindsay of Balcarres" on David Lindsay, second son of John Lindsay. David built a small Gothic chapel, and was buried there when he died in 1641. The chapel still stands near the road, but has lost its roof. David's son Alexander was created Earl of Balcarres in 1651. He and his wife, Anna supported the Royalists through the Civil War, dying in exile in Breda in 1659, while Balcarres was sequestered by the Parliamentarians. The Crawfords continued to back the Stuarts, and in 1689 Colin, 3rd Earl of Balcarres, was imprisoned and later exiled as a supporter of the deposed James VII. He was permitted to return to Scotland in 1700, but took part in the failed Jacobite Rising of 1715, and was subsequently placed under house-arrest at Balcarres. He later founded the estate village of Colinsburgh to the south of the house, before his death in 1722. In 1789, the sixth Earl Alexander, sold Balcarres to his brother, Robert Lindsay, who had acquired a fortune in India. Robert's son Colonel James Lindsay inherited the house in 1836. He commissioned a substantial extension to Balcarres from the architect William Burn, preserving most of the old house within it. His son, Sir Coutts Lindsay, built another extension to the north east, and the terraced gardens, to designs by David Bryce in the 1860s. In April 1886 Sir Coutts sold the estate to his nephew, James Ludovic Lindsay, the ninth Earl of Balcarres and twenty-sixth Earl of Crawford. It remains in the Earl's family.

The 1300’s - On June 24, 1314, King Robert the Bruce led 5,500 trained men to victory over the English army of nearly 20,000. Bannockburn was the greatest victory ever won by the Scots. Robert the Bruce proved himself not only a superb leader, but also a skilled general. Lindsays and Crawfords were involved in that epic struggle.

This victory helped pave the way for the Declaration of Arbroath and then the Treaty of Northampton, which led to Scottish independence from England.

Today - In the 1930’s, the Bannockburn Battlefield was in danger of being developed. Fortunately, the head of the Bruce family, the 19th Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, KT, raised funds and purchased 58 acres of the former battlefield. The area purchased includes the site of the Borestone where Robert the Bruce located his headquarters before destroying the English army. In 1932, the Earl granted this land to The National Trust for Scotland.

In 1967, the new auditorium and information center opened. Today, an excellent audio-visual presentation of the Bannockburn Battle is presented.

Home to the Craufurds of Craufurdland, the castle dates from 1245, one of the oldest in Ayrshire and is situated within a small country estate with scenic views, near Fenwick.

Estimates of the date of the oldest parts of the castle range from the 14th to the late 16th century, when it was simply a tower house. A wing from 1648 has been identified, but the gothic style frontage is from the early 19th century. The castle is still in private ownership.

A ruined estate house in Fife, Scotland, and former family seat. It lies on the eponymous Crawford Priory Estate between the villages of Pitlessie and Springfield, and about 3 miles (5 km) south west of the nearest town, Cupar.

Originally built as Crawford Lodge by the 21st Earl of Crawford in 1758, Lady Mary Lindsay Crawford commissioned enlargements and alterations in a 'gothic ecclesiastical' style from David Hamilton and James Gillespie Graham in the early 19th century, gaining it its ultimate grandeur and priory name. Despite subsequent improvements, the property was eventually abandoned in 1968 after becoming too difficult to maintain, with attempts at demolition or redevelopment unsuccessful.

A widely-praised early example of gothic revival architecture, Crawford Priory is of category A class, but holds only category B listed building status due to its ruinous state.

The house and lands were sold to the 24th Earl of Crawford in 1845. His main family residence was Haigh Hall in Greater Manchester and it was under the instruction of the 25th Earl of Crawford, his eldest son who succeeded him in 1869. Alexander, 25th Earl of Crawford, died in 1880 and his body was stolen in 1881.

His body had been removed from a burial vault within the private chapel but the removal of the body was not discovered until several months later after a note signed 'Nabob' was received. After extensive searches the body was eventually found on 18 July 1882 near a gravel pit close to the house. The body was later transported to Haigh Hall and buried again in the family vault. 

It also has an observatory, built by James Ludovic Lindsay, the 26th Earl of Crawford in 1872. Later, in 1888 he gifted his extensive library and all the observatory contents to the nation, on condition that the government build a new Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, rather than close it down following the resignation of then-Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Charles Piazzi Smyth. The estate was offered for sale in 1886 and sold in 1900.

Dunnottar Castle, a ruined medieval fortress on a rocky headland near Stonehaven in Scotland, was acquired by William and Margaret Fraser from William Lindsay of Byres in 1392.

Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.

As the ancestral home of the Lindsays, Edzell Castle was the original castle of the Chief of Clan Lindsay which they acquired in 1358 and retained ownership until 1715.

The red sandstone castle walls, set amid pleasant green parkland, make an attractive setting. The icing on the cake of the new residence was the great garden, added in 1604.

The ‘lichtsome’ Lindsays

The head of the family known as the ‘lichtsome [carefree] Lindsays’ became Earl of Crawford and one of the most powerful men in the realm.

In the mid-1400s, David, the 3rd Earl, made Edzell a separate inheritance for his younger son, Walter. The castle remained with this junior branch of the family for the rest of its days as a Lindsay residence.

For a time in the 1500s, this junior branch also held the earldom of Crawford in the person of David, the 9th Earl. It was he who began building the new residence.

The Edzell Castle we see today:

was centred on an impressive tower house

housed state apartments in its gatehouse range

had further family rooms along the courtyard’s north side

The Lindsays’ most famous guests were:

Mary Queen of Scots, in 1562

James VI, her son, in 1580 and 1589

The family fell on hard times and had to sell Edzell in 1715 because of mounting debts. Then its new owner, the Earl of Panmure, lost his lands because of his part in the Jacobite Rising of the same year.

Edzell’s days as a noble residence were over.

The great garden

The Lindsays’ greatest building achievement at Edzell was the wonderful walled garden. The 9th Earl’s son, David, Lord Edzell, added it in 1604.

The present garden layout was recreated in the 1930s. But the garden’s most striking and unusual features are its four original enclosing walls, which display a series of unique carved panels.

The panels portray the:

Seven Cardinal Virtues

Seven Liberal Arts

Seven Planetary Deities

Sir David clearly intended to stimulate both mind and senses. His garden is unique in Scotland and gives Edzell a distinctive place in the art history of the European Renaissance.

This castle, now in ruins, was the ancestral home of the Crawfords in the 1400’s. The 4th Earl of Crawford, Earl Beardie, plays a role in another ghost story.

The 1400’s

The Lindsay’s fortunes reached their height in the 1400’s. There were junior houses in Dumfries, Lanarkshire, Lothian, Fife, Perth, Inverness and Aberdeen. The two main lines of the Lindsays of Crawford and the Lindsays of Byers had become one of the great family interests of the north, owning much of Angus and dominating the county politically and militarily. From this position of power (and with their strong Stewart blood), the Lindsays were able to take a leading part in the great and dangerous game of making (and unmaking) kings. The main figures in this contest were the 4th and 5th Earls of Crawford; David, the 5th Earl, later the Duke of Montrose, the favorite of James III.

The 4th Earl—Earl Beardie

The Tiger Earl, or Earl Beardie as he was alternatively known both for his ferocious disposition and for his flame-red hair, made himself a virtual tyrant in Angus. He conspired with the great Lords of the South and West to subvert the crown and thwart its plans to force submission by the feudal Barons. MacDonald, however, lost his nerve and Douglas lost his head when he was treacherously slain by King James II himself in Stirling Castle.

Crawford was left, therefore, with a stark alternative: Take on the crown alone, or make a humiliating submission. The latter seemed just as dangerous as the former, since the King had sworn that he would raze Crawford’s great castle of Finhaven to the ground, “making its highest stone, its lowest.” Nevertheless, when Earl Beardie did agree to throw himself on King James’ mercy, his repentance was so abject that James had no alternative but to forgive him. Yet he had sworn an oath against Crawford! How could he avoid breaking it? An ingenious courtier suggested the answer. Earl Beardie invited the King to Finhaven, where he entertained him in regal style. And then early one morning, King James went up onto the roof of the castle and ceremonially threw its highest stone down into the courtyard, thus fulfilling his oath.

Despite this reconciliation, however, the local folks continued to think of the Earl Beardie as a great rebel. The Earl earned a reputation not only for cruelty, but also for resorting to the Black Arts to further his political purposed. His cruelty is related in the story of a messenger who once cut a cudgel from a chestnut tree growing on the Finhaven Castle grounds. Earl Beardie hanged him for the offense from one of the chestnut tree boughs.

Today

The ghost of this luckless messenger still walks between Finhaven and Cariston and another rhyme tells us that:

Earl Beardie ne’er will dee,

Nor puir Jock Barefoot be set free,

As lang’s there grows a chestnut tree.

The 1400’s

Glamis is reported to be one of the most haunted castles in Scotland. One of the ghostly legends of the castle is Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford, also known as Earl Beardie. The Earl was an inveterate gambler. One Sabbath, he was playing cards with the first Lord Glamis at Glamis Castle and was losing quite heavily. When Lord Glamis advised him to stop playing, Earl Beardie, in a great rage, swore outrageously that he would continue playing until Judgment Day. This, evidently, was the proverbial “last straw” for, as the Earl spoke, a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning brought into the room the Devil himself. The room and all its occupants then disappeared from mortal sight.

Today

Many believe that unexplained sounds in the castle can indeed be explained: The Earl Beardie and Lord Glamis still inhabit a secret room at Glamis Castle, where they are condemned to pay for their rebellion against the Lord by playing cards all thorough eternity—with the Devil himself as the dealer!

Today, experts on Glamis Castles believe there really is a sealed room in the walls of the dining room that can only be accessed from a sealed “door within a door” located a floor above. Legend has it that whoever tries to open the sealed entrance will die. There is no plan to attempt to open the sealed entrance.

Haigh Hall, a historic country house in Haigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, was the former home of the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, built between 1827 and 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, and sold to Wigan Council in 1947 

Elizabeth Dalrymple married Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres in 1787 and Haigh Hall became the seat of the Earls of Balcarres and, after 1848, the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, for several generations. The Bradshaigh and Lindsay fortunes were made from seams of cannel and coal under the estate which were mined from before 1536. The Lindsays founded the Wigan Coal and Iron Company, which became the largest such company on the Lancashire Coalfield.

The present hall was built between 1827 and 1840 by James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, on the site of the ancient manor house.

During the First and Second World Wars, the hall was used to provide care for injured soldiers David Lindsay, 11th Earl sold the hall and grounds to Wigan Corporation in 1947 for £18,000 and moved to the family's original home at Balcarres House in Fife.

Invermark Castle is an oblong tower house dating from the 16th century, at the east of Loch Lee, Angus, Scotland. It is near the head of Glen Esk.

The present castle is on the site of a 14th-century castle. The castle belonged to the Lindsays of Crawford. It was designed to control Highland marauders. It was here that David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford died in 1558. The present castle was built in the 16th century, and heightened in the early 17th century. The castle was abandoned in 1803.

Invermark Castle is an implausibly tall tower house dating back to the 1300s and built to guard the southern end of the strategic pass leading from Deeside.

The exterior of the castle is remarkably impressive. In part this is down to the setting in mountainous country where Glen Lee and Glen Mark meet to become Glen Esk. But it is also because you can get an impression, often lost in castles altered in later centuries, of just how daunting a building like this would have been to lightly armed attackers.

It is an impressive and interesting structure, and well worth the short detour from the busy path north to Mount Keen. Oddly for such a large castle, the growth of trees around the Water of Mark means it is remarkably invisible from the south east until you are very close to it.

The castle was built around 1526 by the Lindsay family, making use of an existing 14th century keep. It sheltered David Lindsay after he had killed Lord Spynie in Edinburgh (1607), following a long-standing quarrel; and also James Carnegie, Lord Balnamoon, who was being sought by government troops after the Battle of Culloden (1746)

Kilconquhar House, the seat of the Bethunes, later became associated with the Lindsay family when George Lindsay of Wormiston inherited the estate after marrying Margaret Bethune in 1764.  

Crawford Castle, substantially in ruins, is located on the north bank of the River Clyde, around 1⁄2 mile (800 metres) north of Crawford, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The ruins stand on an earlier motte and bailey earthwork. The castle is also known as Lindsay Tower, after its former owners, the Lindsay family. The strategic location of the castle, at NS954213, guards the strategically important Mennock Pass from England into the upper Clyde Valley.

The Thistle Chapel, located in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland, is the chapel of the Order of the Thistle.

At the foundation of the Order of the Thistle in 1687, James VII ordered Holyrood Abbey be fitted out as a chapel for the Knights. At James' deposition the following year, a mob destroyed the Chapel's interior before the Knights ever met there. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, multiple proposals were made either to refurbish Holyrood Abbey for the Order of the Thistle or to create a chapel within St Giles' Cathedral. In 1906, after the sons Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven donated £24,000 from their late father's estate, Edward VII ordered a new Chapel to be constructed on the south side of St Giles'.

Pictured at the head of the chapel, to the left of the Queen, and right of the photo is the seat of the late Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, 12th Earl of Balcarres, Knight of the Thistle awarded in 1996.

Stirling Cast as a Strategic Possession

Stirling Castle occupies probably the most strategic and therefore the most powerful, position in Scotland. Because it links North and South, Highlands and Lowlands, many have called it the “Key to Scotland” and asserted “whoever holds Stirling and its bridges splits Scotland in two.” At various times in its long history, Stirling Castle has changed owners more than any other castle in Scotland. It has been a refuge for kings, a prison for political prisoners, a storehouse for weapons and a museum. Although records indicate that a castle occupied the Stirling site before the 11th century, the Lindsay-Stirling connections occurred several centuries later.

1452—An indirect connection occurred in the middle of the 15th century. King James II, believing that William the Eighth Earl of Douglas was plotting against him, invited the noble to Stirling and provided a letter of safe-conduct. After a dinner with Lord Douglas, King James invited him to explain the “League of Douglas,” into which Lord Douglas had entered with the Earl of Crawford. When William refused to disband the League, King James, who greatly feared this most powerful alliance, seized his dagger and stabbed Lord Douglas. His courtiers then killed Lord Douglas and threw the body from a window. When King James later was declared guiltless by Parliament, the Ninth Earl of Douglas (brother of the Eighth Earl) attacked both city and castle.

1567—Shortly after Queen Mary’s abdication, her thirteen-month-old son was crowned King James VI at Stirling. King James and country were ruled by the Earl of Mar, who was named Regent.

1572—Mar died and the Earl of Morton succeeded him. Morton made many powerful enemies during his Regency and other nobles bitterly resented his power over King James.

1578—The Earl of Atholl and Argyll collected any army to march to Stirling and “free” the King. The King ordered them to disband, however and a subsequent reconciliation feast at Stirling was meant to show that the grievance was ended.

1579—Esme Stewart became a courtier in King James’ company at Stirling and steadily gained power and influence over the young monarch. King James made him not only a confidante, but also Earl of Lennox.

1582—Morton having been betrayed by Lennox and another of King James’s favorites, James Stewart was condemned to death for his part in Darnley’s murder.

1585—An alliance of rebellious lords attacked the castle, bringing an end to James Stewart’s influence over King James. The King, the Earl of Montrose and the Earl of Crawford shut themselves in Stirling Castle and remained there until receipt of a guarantee that no harm would come to them if they surrendered. Upon their subsequent surrender, King James restored the castle to the Earl of Mar.

Stirling Castle underwent extensive renovation during the 1990’s. The Royal Chapel, the site where Mary Queen of Scots’ son was crowned King James VI, was renovated to its medieval splendor. In addition, the Great Hall was restored. The entire building was restored to its original state, including the outside walls being painted with a limestone wash. Stirling Caste is a not-to-be-missed stop for anyone traveling to Scotland

Lieutenant-General John Lindsay, 20th Earl of Crawford (4 October 1702 – 25 December 1749) was a Scottish peer and the first colonel of the Black Watch on its formation in 1739.

The vault of John Lindsay (often called Lady Boyd's House) Ceres Churchyard 

The Kingdom of Lindsey or Linnuis (Old English: Lindesege) was a lesser Anglo-Saxon kingdom, which was absorbed into Northumbria in the 7th century. The name Lindsey derives from the Old English toponym Lindesege, meaning "Isle of Lind". Lindum Colonia was the Roman name of the settlement which is now the City of Lincoln in Lincolnshire. (Lindum Colonia was shortened in Old English to Lindocolina and then Lincylene.) Lindum was a Latinised form of a native Brittonic name which has been reconstructed as *Lindon (lit. 'pool' or 'lake'; cf. modern Welsh llyn).

Lindsey lay between the Humber estuary and the Wash, forming its inland boundaries from the courses of the Witham and Trent rivers, and the Foss Dyke between them. A marshy region south of the Humber known as the Isle of Axholme was also included. It is believed that Roman Lindum (Lincoln) was the capital of Lindsey: the continuity of the place name suggests continuity of settlement traditions: in 625, Bede recounts, the missionary Paulinus of York was received by the praefectus of Lindum. Place-name evidence is suggestive that the Anglian settlement known as Lindisfaras spread from the Humber coast.

Lindsey means the 'island of Lincoln': it was surrounded by water and very wet land. Lincoln was in the south-west part of the kingdom. During the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, from about 450, Lindsey was one of the lesser kingdoms. Although it has its own list of kings, at an early date it came under external influence. It was from time to time effectively part of Deira, of the Northumbrian kingdom and, particularly later, of Mercia. Lindsey lost its independence long before the arrival of the Danish settlers. A continuing British presence in the region is indicated by the fact that major settlements such as Lincoln, and Lindsey itself, have partially Celtic names. Caitlin Green suggests that some communities may have continued to speak Brittonic until the eighth century.

Lindsey's prominence was before the historical period. By the time of the first historical records of the kingdom, it had become a subjugated polity, under the alternating control of Northumbria and Mercia. Its subjugation may have occurred around AD 500. Its territories were absorbed into the historical English county of Lincolnshire, the northern part of which is called Lindsey.