Tartan of the Month

Introduction:
Each month one of the rarer clan, family, military or similar type patterns is shown and its history described. Sometimes a number of variations bearing the same name are considered together. The aim of this page is to introduce people to a wider range of historical designs. Many of these are extremely beautiful and unique but regretably have disappeared from public use at some time in the past. The reason was often as simple as that there was a newer design available bearing the same name. It is only by being aware of these older and rarer designs that people can help to keep them alive. If one of these designs takes your fancy why not order some and use it. Help spread the word.

This Month's Tartan:

Spens

Little is know of the origins of this design. Details came from a fragment so named in the collection of the Highland Society of London (HSL) c.1816. The material is somewhat dirty which has lead to the design being rendered incorrectly by some contemporary weavers. The quality of the weaving and the colours have all the characteristics of the weaving of Wilsons of Bannockburn and given their prominence at this period it seems likely that it was produced by them. In the last couple of years the writter has been able to locate a complete kilt in this design. The kilt is in a private collection and is unnamed but the style dates it to about the same period (1820) as the HSL fragment. Fortunately, the material is in better condidtion and was able to verify the design details. Structually the tartan is similar to the pattern known as Drummond of Perth and was probably designed by Wilsons for someone of the name Spens. Today it is more common to find the name spelt Spence. Unfortunately for those of either spelling of the name, the tartan remains a rare one and is not available off the shelf.

For information on prices and to order cloth in this tartan Click Here

If you have any any questions please contact:

tartan@zetnet.co.uk

Updated July 1999