Smith Art Gallery & Museum | Details | Rob Roy McGregor Tartan

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Actions Displays	Rob Roy McGregor Tartan Remove from selection Add to selection Reproduction Download mediaDownload as zip file Object number05962.15 TitleRob Roy McGregor Tartan Creator Messrs. Wilson (manufacturer)‎ DescriptionIn the eyes of the world, Scotland and tartan go hand-in-hand. But did you know that for more than a hundred years, Bannockburn near Stirling was at the heart of the tartan manufacturing industry? This tartan sample was made by Wilson’s of Bannockburn in the early 19th century. Also known as Old MacGregor, it is romantically called ‘Rob Roy’ tartan, named after the eponymous Scottish outlaw who became a folk hero during the Victorian era. William Wilson was a weaver and chapman (a seller of cloth), who set up his business in Bannockburn in 1759. By 1785, he owned 12 looms and had created a wholesale manufacturing business producing tartan and other cloth for customers ranging from the northern Highlands to the West Indies. Wilson’s biggest customer was, however, the British Army. After the failed 1745 Jacobite Rising, the wearing of Highland dress by all men was prohibited by the Act of Proscription in 1746. Harsh penalties were imposed, including imprisonment and transportation. The Act excluded the British Army; the many Scottish Regiments created during the second half of the 18th century were encouraged to wear the plaid. Regiments gradually adopted their own tartans – the earliest was the Black Watch, created in 1739. Wilson’s provided the cloth that dressed most of the Scottish soldiers fighting on fronts across the world. The ban on wearing Highland dress was lifted in 1782. The wealthy elite from the Highland Society in London began to champion the use of tartan and encouraged clan chiefs to adopt tartans linked to their family names. A visit to Edinburgh by King George IV in 1822 saw the city awash with patriotism, a veritable sea of tartan. Queen Victoria’s love of the Highlands cemented Scotland’s status as a romantic country, land of the Celts. Wilson’s cloth became so fashionable that manufacture could hardly keep up with demand. Production placeBannockburn, Stirling District Production period19th century (early) Object nameTartan Sample Costume, Textiles MaterialWool TechniqueWoven Dimensions whole Length: 635 mm whole Width: 235 mm

Reproduction

Download mediaDownload as zip file

Object number05962.15

TitleRob Roy McGregor Tartan

Creator Messrs. Wilson (manufacturer)‎

DescriptionIn the eyes of the world, Scotland and tartan go hand-in-hand. But did you know that for more than a hundred years, Bannockburn near Stirling was at the heart of the tartan manufacturing industry? This tartan sample was made by Wilson’s of Bannockburn in the early 19th century. Also known as Old MacGregor, it is romantically called ‘Rob Roy’ tartan, named after the eponymous Scottish outlaw who became a folk hero during the Victorian era. William Wilson was a weaver and chapman (a seller of cloth), who set up his business in Bannockburn in 1759. By 1785, he owned 12 looms and had created a wholesale manufacturing business producing tartan and other cloth for customers ranging from the northern Highlands to the West Indies. Wilson’s biggest customer was, however, the British Army. After the failed 1745 Jacobite Rising, the wearing of Highland dress by all men was prohibited by the Act of Proscription in 1746. Harsh penalties were imposed, including imprisonment and transportation. The Act excluded the British Army; the many Scottish Regiments created during the second half of the 18th century were encouraged to wear the plaid. Regiments gradually adopted their own tartans – the earliest was the Black Watch, created in 1739. Wilson’s provided the cloth that dressed most of the Scottish soldiers fighting on fronts across the world. The ban on wearing Highland dress was lifted in 1782. The wealthy elite from the Highland Society in London began to champion the use of tartan and encouraged clan chiefs to adopt tartans linked to their family names. A visit to Edinburgh by King George IV in 1822 saw the city awash with patriotism, a veritable sea of tartan. Queen Victoria’s love of the Highlands cemented Scotland’s status as a romantic country, land of the Celts. Wilson’s cloth became so fashionable that manufacture could hardly keep up with demand.

Production placeBannockburn, Stirling District

Production period19th century (early)

Object nameTartan Sample

Costume, Textiles

MaterialWool

TechniqueWoven

Dimensions

whole Length: 635 mm
whole Width: 235 mm