Clan Corbett

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Clan Corbett, a Scottish clan, is a sept of the Clan Ross.

The first Corbet in Scotland came from Shropshire, and settled in Teviotdale under Earl David in the first quarter of the 12th century. He is said to have obtained the manor of Foghou which he held as a vassal under the Earls of Dunbar.

Robert Corbet appeared in Scotland in about 1116 as one of the retinue of Earl David, who later became King David I. The authoress, Augusta Corbet, who wrote The Family of Corbet - Its Life and Times, says that Robert was the son of Roger and grandson of Hugh. It is said he belonged to the family which held Drayton in Northamptonshire.

Robert Corbet was a witness in the instrument or Inquisition made by David, Prince of Cumberland, into the lands belonging to the old Church of Glasgow, and is also a witness in other deeds of David when he was king of Scotland (1124-53).

,'The Cumberland or Cumbria of those days extended to the Clyde, and included Glasgow, which David incorporated into Scotland. David appears to have allotted lands in Roxburghshire to Robert Corbet, where his descendants were 'great lords of several generations.

For many centuries the Corbets held lands in the Scottish Borders and often had divided loyalties between the thrones of Scotland and England, a political necessity in the troubled Border country. By the late 13th century, the Corbets owned land in the Castle Douglas/ Dalbeattie areas in addition to their traditional tenures. A century later, Constantine Corbet owned lands in Fife and a Walter Corbet owned lands around Lochmaben. By the late 16th century, Corbets owned lands in Clydesdale, with Symont Corbet's will showing land held near Hamilton (1574).

In 1745 the Corbetts supported the British Government. When Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in Scotland. Robert Corbet, then provost of Dumfries, rode out with his men to meet him and warned the Prince to stand aside as Dumfries would have nothing to do with him. He apparently returned to Dumfries and locked the gates against the Prince!

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Corbetts were busy in Scotland in a variety of occupations, including shipmasters, tanners, tailors, schoolmasters, weavers, etc. In 1784, James Corbett was a weaver in Larkhall and in Hamilton, other Corbetts were prospering in the late 1700's. Janefield, part of the Tollcross eatate and now a cemetery, was occupied and farmed by a James Corbett in 1751.

The seat of the Corbetts was at Rowallan Castle.