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Vi et Animo (By strength and courage)
The name McCulloch is one of the oldest in Galloway, and the family was long seated at Cardoness Castle near Gatehouse-of-Fleet. Historic Environment Scotland records that the McCullochs supported John Balliol's claim to the throne, and that a feud with the Gordon family ended in the execution of Sir Godfrey McCulloch in 1697. A separate McCulloch family, of different origin, was established in Easter Ross by the 14th century. The clan's own society states that Clan McCulloch is armigerous, with no chief recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon since John McCulloch of Barholm died in 1851.
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Crest & Motto
The motto of Clan MacCulloch is Vi et Animo (By strength and courage). It appears on the Clan MacCulloch crest badge: the chief’s heraldic crest set inside a strap and buckle that carries the motto.
In Scotland a crest belongs to the chief, not to everyone with the surname. Clan members may wear the crest badge, with the crest inside the strap and buckle, to show that they belong to the clan. The plain crest without the strap remains the chief’s own.
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View all MacCulloch productsThe McCullochs, important local lairds, build Cardoness Castle[1][5]
Sir Godfrey Macculloch is obliged to sell Torhouse, Myreton and Ardwell[2]
Sir Godfrey McCulloch is executed for murder; Cardoness Castle is abandoned[1][2]
The Court of the Lord Lyon declares Sir Godfrey's Myretoun line extinct[6]
John McCulloch of Barholm, the last chief recognised by the Lord Lyon, dies[6][7]
Map outline: Natural Earth (public domain). Pins use official Historic Environment Scotland grid references.
These family names are connected with Clan MacCulloch. Each list says who records the link.
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No. The clan's own society states that Clan McCulloch is armigerous and has had no chief recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon since John McCulloch of Barholm died in 1851, and the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs lists no McCulloch chief.
Cardoness Castle near Gatehouse-of-Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, built by the McCullochs in the later 1400s and held by the family until 1697.
After a fatal fight with a Gordon neighbour he fled the country, returned, and was executed in Edinburgh in 1697 for the murder of Gordon of Bush o'Bield; Cardoness Castle was abandoned soon afterwards.
Vi et Animo, Latin for 'By strength and courage'.
Not necessarily. COSCA's surname directory files the McCulloch name under Clan Ross rather than under a Clan McCulloch entry, reflecting a separate Easter Ross family of different origin; the Galloway family treated here (Cardoness, Myretoun, Barholm) is the one whose chiefship the Court of the Lord Lyon ruled on in 1814 and which has had no recognised chief since 1851.
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Clan GordonA fatal fight with a Gordon neighbour led to Sir Godfrey McCulloch's execution in 1697 for the murder of Gordon of Bush o'Bield.