Clan Irving: A Legacy of Bonshaw Tower, Border Reivers and Yielding Under No Winds
Introduction
Clan Irving of Bonshaw, also written Irvine, Irwin, Irwing, Irwyn, Ervine and Urwin, is a historic Scottish Borders clan rooted especially in Dumfriesshire, Bonshaw Tower, Kirtle Water, Annan, Eskdale, and the turbulent world of the Border Reivers.
The clan motto is:
“Haud Ullis Labentia Ventis”
“Yielding under no winds.”
The historic seat is:
Bonshaw Tower, Dumfries and Galloway.
The current chief is:
Rupert Irving of Bonshaw
20th Chief of the Border Clan Irving
Chief of the Name and Arms of Irving of Bonshaw
Rupert Irving was recognised in Edinburgh on 13 April 2021, having inherited the title from his father, and Irving of Bonshaw holds a hereditary seat on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
This article explores the history, people, heritage, tartans, motto, tower, reiver identity and modern legacy of Clan Irving of Bonshaw.
Chapter I: Origins of Clan Irving
The surname Irving is closely related to Irvine, and the two forms have often been used interchangeably in Scottish history. However, for clan heritage, it is useful to distinguish between:
Irvine of Drum — rooted in Aberdeenshire and Drum Castle.
Irving of Bonshaw — rooted in Dumfriesshire and the Scottish Borders.
The Irving of Bonshaw line belongs to the Borders. Its story is not primarily one of Deeside castles and Bruce reward, but of Border towers, horsemen, raids, kinship and survival on the Anglo-Scottish frontier.
Historic spellings and forms include:
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Irving
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Irvine
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Irwin
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Irwing
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Irwyn
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Ervine
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Erwing
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Urwin
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Herwine
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Irving of Bonshaw
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Irvine of Bonshaw
The Irvings of Bonshaw are described as a Scottish Border Reiver clan with roots in Dumfries and Galloway, while the related Irvines of Drum are separately rooted in Aberdeenshire.
The clan motto, “Yielding under no winds,” captures the whole character of the Border Irving story: resilient, rooted, resistant and hard to bend.
Chapter II: Clan Territory and Ancestral Lands
Clan Irving of Bonshaw’s historic territory includes:
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Bonshaw
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Bonshaw Tower
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Dumfriesshire
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Dumfries and Galloway
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Kirtle Water
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Annan
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Eskdale
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The Scottish Borders
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The Anglo-Scottish frontier
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Border Reiver country
The historic seat is:
Bonshaw Tower
Bonshaw Tower stands above the River Kirtle, on a cliff looking out toward England and the Lake District. The present tower was built in the 1570s, during the age of the Border Reivers, as a power base for the Irving family.
Bonshaw is described as the seat of the Irving family for nearly 900 years, and the present tower remains a strong example of a 16th-century Scottish Border peel tower.
This was frontier country. The Irvings lived in a world of:
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Watchtowers
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Horse raids
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Cross-border feuds
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March law
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Kin loyalty
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Cattle lifting
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Retaliation
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Armed defence
Clan Irving of Bonshaw is therefore best understood as a Border clan, not a Highland clan. Its identity comes from the hard riding culture of the frontier.
Chapter III: Important People of Clan Irving
The Early Irvings of Bonshaw
The earliest Irvings of Bonshaw were established in Dumfriesshire and became one of the notable riding families of the Scottish West March.
Their strength came from land, kinship, mounted fighting, frontier knowledge and the defensive power of Bonshaw.
Christopher Irving
Christopher Irving appears in Irving of Bonshaw tradition as an important 16th-century figure.
Clan-history summaries state that Christopher Irving gained a charter to the lands of Stabiltoun and, in 1542, commanded light horse at the Battle of Solway Moss.
This places the Irving name within the military crisis of the Anglo-Scottish wars.
Colonel John Beaufin Irving
Colonel John Beaufin Irving was an important modern restorer of Irving heritage.
He inherited Bonshaw Tower and House and worked to restore what remained of the estate. He also authored The Book of the Irvings, published in 1907.
His work helped preserve and organise the memory of the family.
Sir Robert Beaufin Irving
Sir Robert Beaufin Irving, son of Colonel John Beaufin Irving, had a distinguished naval career. He fought at the Battle of Jutland, commanded the Queen Mary in 1936, and won the Blue Riband.
His life carried the Irving name from Border tower country into naval and imperial maritime history.
Captain Robert A. S. Irving
Captain Robert A. S. Irving RN was formerly Chief of the Name and Arms of Irving of Bonshaw. Earlier clan summaries identified him as chief before the succession of Rupert Irving.
Rupert Irving of Bonshaw
The current chief is:
Rupert Irving of Bonshaw
20th Chief of the Border Clan Irving
Chief of the Name and Arms of Irving of Bonshaw
He was recognised in Edinburgh on 13 April 2021 and represents the modern chiefly line of the Irvings of Bonshaw.
Chapter IV: Castles, Towers and Historic Sites
Bonshaw Tower
Bonshaw Tower is the heart of Clan Irving.
It stands above the River Kirtle in Dumfries and Galloway, watching the old routeways of the Border. The present tower was built in the 1570s, during the notorious Border Reiver period, and its purpose was to provide a strong power base for the Irving family.
For Clan Irving, Bonshaw Tower represents:
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Chiefship
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Border strength
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Family continuity
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Reiver heritage
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Defensive survival
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The name’s oldest seat
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The heart of Irving identity
Bonshaw is not merely a ruin or romantic landmark. It is the clan’s central ancestral place.
Kirtle Water
The River Kirtle runs below Bonshaw Tower.
It is part of the landscape that shaped the Irvings: water, ravines, crossing places, wooded cover, defensive height and frontier movement.
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire is the wider homeland of Clan Irving of Bonshaw.
It was one of the great Border regions: close to England, vulnerable to invasion, and deeply shaped by riding clans and fortified towers.
Annan and Eskdale
The regions around Annan and Eskdale form part of the wider Border world in which Irving families moved, fought, traded, raided and survived.
The Anglo-Scottish Frontier
The Irvings of Bonshaw lived on one of the most dangerous frontiers in medieval and early modern Europe.
The frontier was not simply a line on a map. It was a way of life.
Chapter V: Battles, Wars and Clan Events
Clan Irving of Bonshaw’s history is shaped by Border warfare, reiving, light horse service, family endurance and modern chiefly recognition.
The Border Reiver Age
The Irvings of Bonshaw were part of the Border Reiver world.
Border Reivers were riding families who lived along the Anglo-Scottish frontier and survived through a mixture of farming, raiding, defence, kinship, protection, horse skill and local power.
ScotlandShop describes Irving of Bonshaw as a Borders clan with deep roots at Bonshaw Tower and a major role in the turbulent era of the Border Reivers.
This makes the Irving story one of movement, speed and hard survival.
Battle of Solway Moss — 1542
In 1542, Christopher Irving is said to have commanded light horse at the Battle of Solway Moss.
Solway Moss was a disastrous Scottish defeat during the reign of James V. The battle weakened the king’s position, and he died shortly afterward, leaving the infant Mary, Queen of Scots as heir.
This places the Irving name in one of the major turning points of 16th-century Scottish history.
Building of Bonshaw Tower — 1570s
The building of the present Bonshaw Tower in the 1570s was a major event in the clan’s story.
It reflects the defensive needs of the Border Reiver era, when local families needed strong towers to protect people, goods, cattle and kin.
Reiver Raids and Sieges
Bonshaw Tower survived many raids and sieges relatively unscathed, which is why it remains one of Scotland’s finest surviving Border towers.
This survival mirrors the clan motto:
Yielding under no winds.
Modern Recognition of the Chiefship — 2021
A major modern event was the recognition of Rupert Irving of Bonshaw as Chief of the Name and Arms of Irving of Bonshaw in Edinburgh on 13 April 2021.
This confirmed the modern standing of the Bonshaw line and strengthened Clan Irving’s contemporary identity.
Chapter VI: Clan Motto, Crest and Badge
Clan Motto
The motto of Clan Irving of Bonshaw is:
“Haud Ullis Labentia Ventis”
This means:
“Yielding under no winds.”
ScotlandShop gives the motto as Haud ullis labentia ventis, translated as Yielding under no winds.
The motto is also discussed as a line with classical roots in Virgil’s Georgics.
It means:
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Stand firm
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Bend to no storm
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Remain rooted
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Do not yield to pressure
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Survive hardship
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Hold the line
For a Border Reiver clan, this motto is perfect.
The Borders were a storm.
The Irvings did not yield.
Clan Crest
The crest of Irving of Bonshaw is used within the clan’s recognised crest badge tradition, but care should be taken not to confuse it with the Irvine of Drum holly crest.
For clarity:
Irvine of Drum uses the holly-leaf crest and motto Sub Sole Sub Umbra Virens.
Irving of Bonshaw uses the motto Haud Ullis Labentia Ventis and is a distinct Border chiefly tradition.
Modern clan material emphasises that the Bonshaw branch is independent, with its own chief and clan identity.
Clan Badge
A universally agreed plant badge for Irving of Bonshaw is not as consistently recorded in major clan references as it is for some Highland clans.
For accuracy, the strongest Irving of Bonshaw symbols are:
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Bonshaw Tower
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The Irving of Bonshaw tartan
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The motto “Yielding under no winds”
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Border Reiver horse culture
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Dumfriesshire
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The River Kirtle
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The chiefly line of Bonshaw
Chapter VII: Clan Tartans
Clan Irving of Bonshaw has a recognised tartan tradition.
Irving of Bonshaw Tartan
The Irving of Bonshaw tartan is recorded by the Scottish Register of Tartans under reference 1859.
The register lists it as a Clan/Family tartan, designed by the Scottish Tartans Society, with a tartan date of 1 January 1992.
This is the official tartan recognised for Irving of Bonshaw.
Irving of Bonshaw Tower Tartan
The Irving of Bonshaw Tower tartan is also recorded by the Scottish Register of Tartans, but as a personal tartan rather than the main clan/family tartan.
Irving and Irvine Tartan Distinction
The Clan Irving tartan page explains that the Irving of Bonshaw tartan predates other tartans registered for the Irvings and Irvines in the Borders and Lowlands, and that it is similar to the generic Irvine tartan, but uses dark blue and dark yellow instead of black and white lines.
This is important for accuracy.
The key distinction is:
Irving of Bonshaw — Border clan tartan.
Irvine of Drum — Aberdeenshire chiefly tartan tradition.
Generic Irvine/Irving tartans — may be broader personal or diaspora use depending on registration.
The Meaning of Irving Tartan Today
For modern Irving descendants, tartan represents:
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Bonshaw Tower
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Dumfriesshire roots
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Border Reiver heritage
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The motto “Yielding under no winds”
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Family pride
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Diaspora identity
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The restored modern visibility of the Bonshaw line
The Irving of Bonshaw tartan gives the Border clan a visible and wearable identity.
Chapter VIII: Heritage, Identity and Clan Traditions
Clan Irving of Bonshaw represents a proud Scottish Border identity built on endurance, frontier survival and family continuity.
Its story includes:
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Bonshaw Tower
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Dumfriesshire roots
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Border Reiver heritage
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Kirtle Water
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Light horse service
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Solway Moss tradition
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The 1570s tower
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The motto “Haud Ullis Labentia Ventis”
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The Irving of Bonshaw tartan
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A living recognised chief
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A hereditary seat on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
Associated spellings and forms include:
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Irving
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Irvine
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Irwin
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Irwing
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Irwyn
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Ervine
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Erwing
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Urwin
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Herwine
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Irving of Bonshaw
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Irvine of Bonshaw
The Irving story is not a quiet story.
It is a story of the Borders: towers, horses, raids, defence, storms, family and steel.
Chapter IX: Clan Irving Today
Today, Clan Irving of Bonshaw remains a recognised Border clan with a living chief.
The current chief is:
Rupert Irving of Bonshaw
20th Chief of the Border Clan Irving
Chief of the Name and Arms of Irving of Bonshaw
He was recognised in Edinburgh on 13 April 2021.
Modern Clan Irving identity can be found through:
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Clan Irving organisations
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Bonshaw Tower heritage
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Family history research
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Tartan wearing
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Scottish Borders events
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Study of Border Reiver history
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Genealogy projects
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Diaspora communities across the world
The clan stands today as a symbol of Border resilience, family endurance, reiver heritage and the refusal to yield under any wind.
Chapter X: Legacy of Clan Irving
The story of Clan Irving is a Border story.
It begins at Bonshaw, above the River Kirtle, where a tower watched the frontier and a family held its ground through centuries of danger.
Its motto gives the clan its voice:
Haud Ullis Labentia Ventis — Yielding under no winds.
That phrase captures the Irving spirit: rooted, resistant, faithful to place, and unbroken by storms.
From Bonshaw Tower to the Border Reiver trails, from Solway Moss to modern recognition, from Dumfriesshire to descendants across the world, Clan Irving continues to carry its history forward.
Its legacy is written in tartan, tower stone, horse tracks, river valleys, family records and the pride of those who still honour the name.
Tartan Time Machine Closing Paragraph
At Tartan Time Machine, we bring Scotland’s past into the present by exploring the clans, castles, battles, kirkyards, legends and forgotten stories that shaped the nation.
Clan Irving is one chapter in that greater story — a story of Bonshaw Tower, Dumfriesshire roots, Border Reivers, tartans, light horsemen, family endurance and the storm-defying motto: Yielding under no winds.
Discover more Scottish history, clan stories, castle features and heritage content at:
www.tartantimemachine.com