Tartan Details - The Scottish Register of Tartans

19 April 2024

you are in: Begg (Scarfskerry)	quick tartan search:

While you can search the Register without having to register and login, you will need to create an account to:

-	Register new tartan designs
-	Request threadcount information
-	Receive notification of all new registered tartan designs and other news updates
-	Manage your account details
-	Request official amendments

Tartan Details - Begg (Scarfskerry)

The information held within The Scottish Register of Tartans for the "Begg (Scarfskerry)" tartan is shown below.

Reference:	10723


Designer:	Kinloch Anderson
Tartan date:	03/05/2012
Registration date:	22 October 2012
Category:	Name
Restrictions:	Yes. Exclusively designed by Kinloch Anderson for Melissa McNulty and the Begg Family. Restricted availability, please contact Kinloch Anderson regarding use.
Registration notes:	Designed for Melissa McNulty and her Begg family to commemorate the Begg family name. The base of the tartan design reflects an historical association with Clan Macdonald as well as Scarfskerry in Caithness where the branch of the family comes from. Inspiration for the new design was taken from the Macdonald and Sinclair (Caithness regional tartan) setts. Colours: green signifies the toil and labour of previous generations of Begg family crofters working the bleak wilds of Caithness; blue is for the sea. Working the land was simply not enough for many crofting families to survive on, and many of Melissa McNulty’s ancestors went to sea. Two in particular were, firstly, Sinclair Begg OBE, who worked his way up from cabin boy to be Master of a whaling ship and served with distinction in both World Wars. He was awarded an OBE for his actions in the Second World War, when his ship was torpedoed by Germans just off the Outer Hebrides. Sinclair Begg also went on the Antarctic Surveys of 1955-57 and became the first man to bring penguins back to the UK. Secondly, Sinclair’s older brother, John, served with Christian Salvesen Shipping as a Master Mariner during the First World War, and on two separate occasions faced down German U-Boats. In the first instance he won the DSC for himself and on the second he won the Lloyds Silver Award for Meritorious Sea Service. Purple represents the gentle heather-swept hills of Caithness which were considered ‘home’ for many years after the family had moved to Edinburgh. However, on a more personal note, Melissa McNulty’s Great-Grandmother, from whom her strand of the Begg blood comes, was said to have beautiful, vibrant violet-coloured eyes. This tartan represents Melissa McNulty's personal heritage and that of her remaining family.

Woven Sample:	A woven sample of this tartan has been received by the Scottish Register of Tartans for permanent preservation in the National Records of Scotland.

Tartan image: Begg (Scarfskerry). Click on this image to see a more detailed version.

Click on the image above to see a more detailed version.

If you would like to request threadcount information for this tartan you must Log In to the site. If you do not have an account, click here to create one.

Note: This tartan was registered in the official Scottish Register of Tartans using the guidance at the time of registration. This may have been updated and you should refer to the most recent guidance on our website for registration criteria.

National Records of Scotland, H.M. General Register House, 2 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3YY
email: [email protected].