Belshes

Scottish Clans

Belshes Tartans & Clan

The Belshes clan tartan honours an ancient Lowland Scottish family rooted in Fife and the Mearns, whose name graced lairds, advocates, and emigrants who carried Belshes heritage across America, Canada, and the United Kingdom through centuries of distinguished service.

Clan Motto

Forward

Heritage & Identity

Who Wears Belshes Tartan?

Worn by Belshes descendants worldwide, sept bearers including Belches, Belsches and Beltches families, Scottish heritage societies, and proud diaspora across America, Canada, and Britain.

Associated Names

Belshes

Belches

Belsches

Belsh

Beltches

Beltshes

Belshe

Belchess

Belshess

Bellshes

Belsches of Tosheoch

Belshes of Invermay

Military Heritage

Associated Regiments

Belshes officers served with distinction in Scottish Lowland regiments, the Royal Scots, and colonial forces across Canada and India, contributing legal, naval, and military leadership throughout the British Empire's expansion.

The Royal Scots (Royal Regiment) (Scotland)

Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) (Scotland)

Fife Light Horse (Scotland)

Royal Scots Fusiliers (Scotland)

78th Fraser Highlanders (Canada)

Gordon Highlanders (Scotland)

King's Own Scottish Borderers (Scotland)

Shop Belshes Tartan Products

Discover authentic Belshes clan products including traditional kilts, Highland dress accessories, clan crest badges, Belshes tartan scarves, neckties, and ceremonial pieces crafted for descendants across America, Canada, and Britain.

Belshes Tartans

0 Variations

Each tartan can feature several variations, with the most common being Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress.

Loading tartans…

Ancient Tartan

Before 1860, all fabric dyes came from nature — plants, berries, bark, and insects. The colours they produced were softer and more muted than what we're used to today: think mossy greens, dusty sky blues, and reds with a warm, orangey tone. A lot of people actually prefer Ancient tartans for this reason — the gentler contrasts let the pattern breathe and stand out in a way that bolder colours sometimes don't. Worth knowing: the pattern itself, called the sett, is exactly the same across all variations of a tartan. It's only the colours that change.

The Belshes Story

Four centuries of history woven into every thread

The Belshes family emerges in Scottish records during the 13th century, with John de Belschis witnessing charters in Fife under Alexander III. By the 14th century, the Belshes of Tosheoch had established themselves as substantial Lowland landholders, granted lands through royal favour and feudal service. Early Belshes lairds served as jurors, sheriffs, and crown tenants throughout Fife and the Mearns, building a reputation for legal acumen and steadfast loyalty to the Scottish crown. The family maintained close ties with neighbouring Lowland houses, intermarrying with the Lindsays, Wemyss, and Murrays. Their charters reveal a family deeply embedded in the civic and ecclesiastical life of medieval Scotland, holding lands that would anchor the Belshes name for generations to come.

Through the 15th and 16th centuries, the Belshes family consolidated their position among the Scottish gentry, with Belshes of Tosheoch and Belshes of Invermay emerging as the principal branches. Sir John Belshes served the Stewart kings, while other Belshes kinsmen sat in the Scottish Parliament representing Fife. The family weathered the turbulent Reformation, with many Belshes lairds embracing Presbyterian convictions while preserving their estates through prudent stewardship. Belshes daughters married into the Erskine, Bruce, and Carnegie families, weaving the surname into the fabric of Lowland Scottish nobility. The clan's coat of arms, recorded in the Lyon Register, bears witness to their armigerous status and recognised place among Scotland's landed families.

Where does the name Belshes come from?

Belshes derives from the medieval Scottish surname 'de Belschis,' first recorded in 13th-century Fife, likely originating from a place-name in the Lowlands. Variants such as Belches and Belsches appear in charters from the reigns of Alexander III and Robert the Bruce. The family established themselves as lairds of Tosheoch and later Invermay, becoming influential landowners in Fife, Perthshire, and the Mearns. The name reflects Scotland's Lowland tradition of territorial surnames tied to charter-held estates.

The 18th century brought the Belshes family international prominence, most notably through Sir William Belshes of Invermay, an eminent Edinburgh advocate whose daughter Williamina Belshes became the famed early love of Sir Walter Scott. Belshes kinsmen served as officers in the Royal Scots and Highland regiments during the Seven Years' War and American Revolution, with several settling in Nova Scotia, Upper Canada, and the Carolinas. Following the Acts of Union, Belshes professionals flourished in law, medicine, and naval service across the expanding British Empire. Belshes emigrants established farming communities in Ontario, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, carrying the Lowland surname into the New World while maintaining ties to their ancestral Fife and Perthshire estates.

Throughout the 19th century, Belshes descendants distinguished themselves across the British Empire as soldiers, civil servants, clergymen, and merchants. Belshes officers served in the Napoleonic Wars, Crimean War, and Indian campaigns, while emigrant families thrived in Canada's Maritime provinces, Ontario, and the American Midwest. The literary fame attached to Williamina Belshes Stuart, immortalised in Sir Walter Scott's poetry, brought romantic recognition to the surname across English-speaking nations. Belshes ministers helped found Presbyterian congregations in Nova Scotia and the United States, while Belshes scholars contributed to Scottish legal and historical literature. The family's Lowland heritage was carried proudly to Australia and New Zealand by enterprising emigrants seeking opportunity abroad.