Clan Wallace of Candacraig
Crest:
An ostrich in full flight
Clan Motto
Sperandum Est
Coat of Arms
heraldic description :
Gu. a lion rampant arg., armed and langued az., on a chief of the second three falcons’ heads ppr.
Clan Chief
4th Laird of Candacraig :
Falconer Wallace
The History of the clan
While this name may derive from the Latin form “Wallensis”, others think the name Wallace originates from the Old French word "waleis" meaning “welshman," although the Scottish form refers to a Strathclyde Briton, to where they were driven north in the 10th century. The first record of the name was in 1160 when Richard Walensis of Riccardon witnessed a charter. The Wallaces of Camsecan, Ayrshire, and now of Candacraig, were a cadet branch of the original Wallace families of Riccarton, of Craigie and Elderslie, now represented by Ian Wallace of That Ilk, the 35th Chief. John Wallace of Camsecan (b.1691) sold this Ayrshire property in 1727 and the family moved north where John’s son, Andrew, became tenant in Brightmony and then Murraylaws, near Auldearn, Nairnshire.
His eldest grandson, William moved to Edinburgh where he established the New Town Architects William Wallace & Co. William’s eldest son, also called William, established the Bombay firm of Wallace and Co (c.1837), which prospered and led to establishment of the London firm of Wallace Bros. in 1862. William’s youngest son, Alexander Falconer Wallace, became the prime mover behind the firms. Whilst in Bombay, he had the good fortune to meet Sir Charles Forbes of Newe, who in 1866 had purchased the neighbouring Strathdon estate of Candacraig. Consequently, when Alexander, now returned to London, sought a shooting estate for the “Glorious Twelfth”, it was his friend’s Candacraig that he leased in 1890. Through a gentleman’s agreement, Alexander purchased Candacraig in 1900.
Alexander rose to the top of the banking profession as Governor of the Bank of England (1905-06), DL, JP. The Wallace firms’ mercantile interests extended throughout the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, East Africa and South America, but especially Burma, where the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation’s rest house, called “Candacraig”, survived the Second World War and still stands in the upcountry logging capital of Maymyo. The 2nd Wallace of Candacraig, Lewis Falconer, built the Bellabeg Men’s Club rooms in 1928 before passing the estate to his son Alexander, 3rd Wallace of Candacraig, and the father of the present laird of Candacraig, Falconer (b.1949), who is a Member of H.M. Royal Company of Archers.
In the aftermath of the last war, Candacraig estate formed 14,000 acres of arable and grazing land but being marginal farmland dependent on hill farming subsidies. While Candacraig House, is still a private residence, the Wallaces of Candacraig continue to provide a contingent to the famous Lonach Highlanders.
