Clan Sinclair
also St Clair
Earls of Orkney and Caithness, and builders of Rosslyn.
- Origin
- The Highlands & Islands, Scotland
- Motto
- Commit thy work to God
- Famous bearer
- Sir William Sinclair, founder of Rosslyn Chapel
- Register
- Scottish clan
The seat of Clan Sinclair
Seat vacantChief
No one leads the Clan Sinclair community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.
Current mission
No shared goal set yet. Once Clan Sinclair has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.
The Sinclair clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.
Help rebuild the Sinclair clan →Motto
Commit thy work to God
What does the Sinclair name mean?
From Saint-Clair-sur-Elle in Normandy. The family came to Scotland with the Normans in the 12th century and rose to hold the earldoms of Orkney and Caithness.
The history of Clan Sinclair
The Sinclairs came to Britain from Saint-Clair-sur-Elle in Normandy. By the 14th century they held the earldom of Orkney from the Norwegian crown, and from 1455 the earldom of Caithness from the Scottish crown.
Sir William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, founded Rosslyn Chapel in the mid-15th century, its richly carved interior the subject of centuries of speculation about Templar and Masonic connections.
The Sinclairs of Caithness held their lands at the very north of mainland Scotland and remained a power in the region into the modern era; cadet branches spread across Scotland, Scandinavia and the New World.
Champions of the Sinclair name
The bearers whose lives are inseparable from this surname. Each has their own page, biography, achievements, geography, connection to the family.
Castles the Sinclair held
Strongholds this name held for a decade or more, look one up, or rebuild it to explore.
- Castle of Mey
Built by the 4th Earl of Caithness in 1566–72; seat of the Sinclairs of Mey until 1889.
- Castle Sinclair Girnigoe
Seat of Clan Sinclair from its building by the 2nd Earl of Caithness (c. 1476–96) until 1672.
- Roslin Castle
The Sinclairs, Earls of Caithness and Barons of Roslin, have held Roslin since 1280; the present Earl of Rosslyn is a descendant of the family.
- Dunbeath Castle
Clan Sinclair property from the 15th century; reacquired c. 1624 and held until sold in 1945, after 325 years of occupation.
- Keiss Castle
Built by George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness; later held by the Sinclairs of Dunbeath, from 1752 as their seat, then by the Sinclairs of Ulbster.
- Ravenscraig Castle
Granted to William Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and Caithness, in 1471; the Sinclairs and their St Clair-Erskine successors held the estate until 1896.
- Ackergill Tower
Acquired legally in 1612 when the Earl Marischal sold the tower to the Earl of Caithness; held until 1676.
- Thurso Castle
George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness, built the Arch in 1665; the lairdship was later held by Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet, and Harald's Tower served as the burial place of the Sinclairs of Thurso.
- Castle of Old Wick
Came to the Sinclair family in 1644, until the Earl of Caithness died without issue.
- Kirkwall Castle
Built by Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, soon after 1379; Sinclairs held and kept the castle into the 16th century.
Castles that share the Sinclair name
The same name on the map, look one up, see what it looked like in its prime, and recreate it to explore.
All castles in Scotland → · Strongest castles in Scotland → · Castles of Europe
Play As Your Clan
Pick any year from 500 to 1945 and any place on earth, the Sinclair country, or a shore no Sinclair ever reached. The chronicler sets the scene; the deeds are yours.
Notable bearers of the Sinclair name
- Sir William Sinclair, founder of Rosslyn Chapel