AN official tartan has been launched to celebrate the unique identity of the royal burgh of Culross, one of the main filming locations for the hugely popular television series Outlander.
The handwoven tartan will be the first of its kind in Culross, designed as a collaboration between local gallery owner, Lindsey Marchant, and woven textile designer, Claire Hunter.
Culross, situated in the west of Fife, has provided some of the more dramatic landscapes in earlier series of time travel drama Outlander.
Marchant, owner of Greengate Gallery, said: “We’re so excited to be launching this special new tartan for Culross.
“It’s such a unique place to live and work, and we wanted to celebrate the many inspiration elements of its location and important heritage with a tartan that perfectly captures the timeless essence of the village.”
Believed to have been founded by St Serf in the sixth century, Culross became famous as a trade port in the 16th and 17th centuries under the direction of Sir George Bruce.
Although falling into disrepair in the 18th century, it has been protected by the National Trust for Scotland since the 1930s.
It is famous as both a tourist attraction and a site of religious pilgrimage due to the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey.
The new Culross tartan will launch as a colourful celebration of the villages’ real-life history.
Hunter said that although herself and Marchant have “created a contemporary Scottish tartan”, it still has “its roots firmly in the past”.
They came up with the idea for a new tartan almost a year ago while working together to create a range of new textiles for the gallery.
Hunter said: “The blues and greens of the tartan reflect the villages stunning setting on the Firth of Forth, while the gold, red, brown and black shades were chosen to echo the various distinctive architectural features of the village.”
Marchant added: “The fact that it is handwoven using traditional techniques is a real acknowledgement of the importance of celebrating our past and creating a new quality product that we hope will be a positive boost for Culross.”
Registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans in March of this year, a woven sample of the Culross tartan is now in permanent preservation in the National Records of Scotland.
The launch of the tartan also celebrates the work of female creatives working within two cottage industries in the Fife and Clackmannanshire areas.
The Culross tartan is to be sold exclusively through Marchant at the Greengate Gallery, situated in the Sandhaven area of Culross. The gallery provides a showcase for local artists and craftspeople and sells artwork, pottery and other pieces.
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