Moy Hall Collection

It was assumed that this collection had been gifted to Inverness Museum but on checking with the museum, the only 'collection' from Moy Hall was one small scrap of tartan given to the family by Bonnie Prince Charlie after the Battle of Culloden. The collection is indeed, still housed at Moy Hall (June 2010)

The following comes from an article by George S.C. Swinton in the Scottish Historical Review circa 1908:

"The Mackintosh sent me this list, and as it was a genuine attempt on the part of a Highland Chieftian to get to the bottom of the tartan question, it is well worth placing on record. "

On the first page is written:

"Scottish tartans collected through the agency of Mr. Macdougall of Inverness in the year 1848. They are believed to be the only authentic tartans, and are bound by me Alexander Mackintosh of Mackintosh, 1873, with a view to their preservation as the only authentic tartans."

The list is as follows :

42nd Tartan/Grant green (the same)
79th Cameron
Border or Shepherd's Plaid.
Bruce, Royal
Buchanan.
Caithness : Sinclair or Mactavish.
Cameron of Locheil
Campbell : Breadalbane.
Campbell: Cawdor.
Campbell: Argyll.
Chisholm.
Cockburn.
Colquhoun.
Crawford or Lindsay.
Cumming.
Davidson.
Douglas.
Drummond :  Murray or Tullibardine.
Drummond.
Drummond.: Strathallan
Drummond: Perth.
Dundas.
Farquharson.
Ferguson.
Forbes.
Fraser-Lovat
Glenorchy.
Gordon
Grant: red dress.
Gunn.
Hay.
Keith : Kintore
Lamont.
Leslie.: Rothes
Logan.
Montrose : Graham or Abercromby.
Macallum.
Macdonald
Macdonald of the Isles
Macdonald of Glengarry and Clanranald
Macdonald of Staffa.
Macdougall.
Macduff.
Macfarlane.
MacGillivray.
Macgregor. Clan Alpin
Macintyre.
Mackay.
Mackenzie.
Mackinnon.
Mackinroy,
Mackintosh :   the Chief's or Clan or Clan Chattan
Mackintosh.
Maclaren.
Maclauchlan.
Maclean or Wallace.
Macleod
Macnab.
Macnab.
Macnaughton.
Macneil.
Macpherson  Hunting
Macpherson
Macpherson of Cluny
Macquarrie.
Macrae.
Malcolm.
Matheson.
Melville.
Menzies
Munro.
Murray of Atholl.
Ogilvie: Airlie
Ogilvies of Inverquharitie.
Priests' Tartan.
Ramsay
Rob Roy : Macgregor.
Robertson.
Rose.
Ross.
Royal Stuart
Stuart Dress
Stuart Hunting
Urquhart.

Copied 4th May, 1908. A. Mackintosh of Mackintosh."

The present and 31st Chief is John Lachlan Mackintosh (born 1969), formally styled as The Mackintosh. The Mackintosh has been Chief since 1995 and currently resides in Singapore, being Head of History in the Humanities Faculty at Nanyang Girls' High School.

Further corroboration of the existence of a sizeable Moy Hall Collection is the following, written in 1892 by early researcher and author D.W. Stewart.

"Moy Hall. - The splendid and tasteful residence of The Mackintosh, chiefly interests us on account of the unique collection of specimens of the old hard tartans there preserved. They form the finest series known, and the title page bears that they were:

'Collected by my father in the year 1848. These are believed to be the only authentic tartans, and are bound by me, Alexander Aeneas Mackintosh of Mackintosh, 1873, with a view to their preservation at Moy Hall as correct patterns.'

Through the courtesy of the Chief and his lady a full record of these patterns has been obtained, together with drawings of those hitherto unrecorded."

 

The Rout of Moy (Wikiepdia)

Moy Hall near the village of Moy south of Inverness has been the home of the Clan Mackintosh chiefs since the 14th century.

Jacobite supporter Lady Anne Farquharson-MacKintosh entertained Charles Edward Stuart here in 1746. Lady MacKintosh learned that government forces were advancing to capture Stuart and she arranged for four of her men to hide by the roadside when the government troops approached.

Setting off their pistols to fire one at a time, they shouted for Clan MacDonald and Clan Cameron to advance, thus tricking the government forces into thinking they had stumbled into the whole of Jacobite Army. Government forces speedily retreated and the event is remembered as "The Rout of Moy".

The historic 19th century Moy Hall was demolished after World War II having been overcome by dry rot. Its replacement built nearby, the new "Moy Hall", is a somewhat smaller but comfortable home which retains various feat