MacGregor (Red & Black)
The red-and-black check, also known as 'Old MacGregor' — Wilsons named it 'Rob Roy', probably following the publication of Scott's Waverley novels. A specimen exists in the collection of the Highland Society of London (1816–17), bearing the Seal of Arms of Sir John MacGregor Murray of MacGregor, Baronet, signed John M. Murray and labelled 'The MacGregor Tartan for undress ordinary clothing'; the Society's specimens were collected in 1815–16, and the sett appears in the 1819 Key Pattern Book. D.W. Stewart found no documentary evidence of Rob Roy actually wearing it, but William and Andrew Smith of Mauchline ('The Clan and Family Tartans of Scotland', 1850) record three original portraits taken from life in this tartan — 1704 at Broomhill near Hamilton, 1714 at the Scottish Antiquarian Society, and 1734 in the possession of George Buchanan of Arden — dates Grant repeats in his 'Clans of Scotland' (1886). The STA's record notes there is no set thread count for this pattern: it is woven at various sizes, from 1-inch to 6-inch squares, in equal proportions — exactly the scale ladder the sett table below shows. (STA record 1504, via the Internet Archive.)
The MacGregor (Red & Black) tartan is one sett, recorded at 7 scales — the same proportion woven finer or broader. The top row is the unit proportion; each scale row is one weaving of it.
| Sett | ΔTartan | Thread count | Threads | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacGregor (Red & Black) | K/1 R/1 | 2 | 1704 | |
 | ||||
| · ×4 — Welsh Costume (Personal) | 0.00 | K/4 R/4 | 8 | 1986 |
| · ×8 — Rob Roy | 0.00 | K/8 R/8 | 16 | — |
| · ×16 — Rob Roy MacGregor | 0.00 | K/16 R/16 | 32 | 1815 |
| · ×20 — Masai Shuka 03 (Artefact) | 0.00 | K/20 R/20 | 40 | ~2007 |
| · ×66 — Rob Roy | 0.00 | K/66 R/66 | 132 | — |
| · ×100 — MacGregor - 1816 (Red & Black) | 0.00 | K/100 R/100 | 200 | 1704 |
| · ×172 — Rob Roy Macgregor | 0.00 | K/172 R/172 | 344 | 1704 |
| 7 Variants: MacGregor - 1816 (Red & Black) · Rob Roy MacGregor · Rob Roy Macgregor · Masai Shuka 03 (Artefact) · Welsh Costume (Personal) · Rob Roy · Rob Roy | ||||
Also known as
This tartan is also recorded under:
- MacGregor
- Masai Shuka 03
- Rob Roy
- Rob Roy Macgregor
- Welsh Costume
Nearest tartans
The nearest NAMED TARTANS — each represented by its master sett — by ΔTartan distance from this tartan's master, which leads the table so the swatches line up against it.
Neighbour map
Every grey dot is one of 10270 named tartans (their master setts) placed by the first two principal components of the ΔTartan feature space (42% of its variance). Red is this tartan; blue dots are its nearest — click one to open its master cloth. The map is a flat projection of a many-dimensional space — how to read it.