History
When David 1st,came to power he imported a lot of Norman
aristocracy and their retainers, he was in exile in England for a
number of years, Carstairs was one of the places they
were granted, was in the estates of Walter the Steward, and the
town was settled by a number of anglo-norman artisans, who
interbred with the local villagers.
The family Graduated from farmers to traders in St Andrews, shipping goods backwards and forwards between St Andrews and Rotterdam, becoming the foremost family within the town by the 16th century,
various Mayors and local dignatories. From there became Barons of Kilconquhar, Sir John Carstairs etc,a Captain in the Kings Bodyguard around 1650, one of the family was William of Orange's ambassadors to Scotland, and official chaplain and followed him from battlefield to battlefield. However were stripped of the Barony for supporting the jacobites in the 45 rebellion, and slipped back into obscurity after that.
Its not an uncommon surname on the coast of Fife to this day. The Glaswegian connection comes from a chap who moved his family there from Fife in the 1860s, some of his descendents subsequently moved to Dublin, and live just outside there to this day. At the proposed Union of the Scottish and English Parliaments in 1706, "the parishioners of Carstairs united with those of Covington and Symontown, in subscribing an address to Parliament against Union with England, in the terms of the proposed articles."
The surname Carstairs, the name originates from the village. In the late 13th Century, the Stewart Earl (Stewarts were at the time nobles ). Were given a large amount of land surrounding
St Andrews by the then king. The Earl gave the land to his secretary,to administer on his behalf,
a priest named Thomas de carstairs (no surnames in those days for common people - didn`t become the norm untill the 16th century), Thomas having no children imported his family members from the village to take up farms in the area, in turn holding them on his behalf, (the name of the game - even in those days was tax generation, plus a bit of military service) and hence a tribe of Johns,Andrews, and Thomases from Carstairs appeared.
(excerpt from )"Living in St Andrews" by Catherine Forrest, published by St Andrews University Library
[ I believe there is a limited number of copies of this publication available for purchase ]The village lies on Watling Street and in Roman times there was a large camp there.
The site commanded the important military routes to London, Lanark and Ayr, and indeed in every direction. Such a strategic advantage did not disappear at the end of the Roman occupation and by Norman times there was a fortified castle at Carstairs.
It is not surprising that with the passing of years, our village, originally known as Tarris, probably with the celtic prefix Caer, a fort, then became, in Anglo-Norman times, first as Chastel-tarris (modern Chateau), then Casteltarris. Thus the family got its name, de Casteltarris, and then Casteltarris. A very important aspect of the Norman feudal system in Scotland was the great power and wealth it bestowed on the Church. Successive kings after Malcolm III and Queen Margaret, and particularly their pious son David I, carried on this process till the Church in the Anglo Norman era was one of the greatest landowners in Scotland.
The village of Casteltarris lay in the diocese of Glasgow and the bishopric of Glasgow had owned the parish, barony and lands from as early as the 12th century. The early date of the barony of Carnwath (which incorporated Casteltarris) suggests that it was part of David I's bounty to the Church.
If so it is certain that many of the Anglo Normans who came to Scotland with David from his large estate in Northamptonshire would settle inthis barony, and acquire lands either as tenants or by intermarriage.
The de Casteltarris family may well have fallen into one of these categories, especially since they were not using a surname of Celtic derivation, but were following the Norman custom of naming - Norman immigrants, who had dropped their Norman surnames and become known as "from" or "of" their new place of residence.
The family Graduated from farmers to traders in St Andrews, shipping goods backwards and forwards between St Andrews and Rotterdam, becoming the foremost family within the town by the 16th century,
various Mayors and local dignatories. From there became Barons of Kilconquhar, Sir John Carstairs etc,a Captain in the Kings Bodyguard around 1650, one of the family was William of Orange's ambassadors to Scotland, and official chaplain and followed him from battlefield to battlefield. However were stripped of the Barony for supporting the jacobites in the 45 rebellion, and slipped back into obscurity after that.
Its not an uncommon surname on the coast of Fife to this day. The Glaswegian connection comes from a chap who moved his family there from Fife in the 1860s, some of his descendents subsequently moved to Dublin, and live just outside there to this day. At the proposed Union of the Scottish and English Parliaments in 1706, "the parishioners of Carstairs united with those of Covington and Symontown, in subscribing an address to Parliament against Union with England, in the terms of the proposed articles."
The surname Carstairs, the name originates from the village. In the late 13th Century, the Stewart Earl (Stewarts were at the time nobles ). Were given a large amount of land surrounding
St Andrews by the then king. The Earl gave the land to his secretary,to administer on his behalf,
a priest named Thomas de carstairs (no surnames in those days for common people - didn`t become the norm untill the 16th century), Thomas having no children imported his family members from the village to take up farms in the area, in turn holding them on his behalf, (the name of the game - even in those days was tax generation, plus a bit of military service) and hence a tribe of Johns,Andrews, and Thomases from Carstairs appeared.
(excerpt from )"Living in St Andrews" by Catherine Forrest, published by St Andrews University Library
[ I believe there is a limited number of copies of this publication available for purchase ]The village lies on Watling Street and in Roman times there was a large camp there.
The site commanded the important military routes to London, Lanark and Ayr, and indeed in every direction. Such a strategic advantage did not disappear at the end of the Roman occupation and by Norman times there was a fortified castle at Carstairs.
It is not surprising that with the passing of years, our village, originally known as Tarris, probably with the celtic prefix Caer, a fort, then became, in Anglo-Norman times, first as Chastel-tarris (modern Chateau), then Casteltarris. Thus the family got its name, de Casteltarris, and then Casteltarris. A very important aspect of the Norman feudal system in Scotland was the great power and wealth it bestowed on the Church. Successive kings after Malcolm III and Queen Margaret, and particularly their pious son David I, carried on this process till the Church in the Anglo Norman era was one of the greatest landowners in Scotland.
The village of Casteltarris lay in the diocese of Glasgow and the bishopric of Glasgow had owned the parish, barony and lands from as early as the 12th century. The early date of the barony of Carnwath (which incorporated Casteltarris) suggests that it was part of David I's bounty to the Church.
If so it is certain that many of the Anglo Normans who came to Scotland with David from his large estate in Northamptonshire would settle inthis barony, and acquire lands either as tenants or by intermarriage.
The de Casteltarris family may well have fallen into one of these categories, especially since they were not using a surname of Celtic derivation, but were following the Norman custom of naming - Norman immigrants, who had dropped their Norman surnames and become known as "from" or "of" their new place of residence.