The name Jardine is generally acknowledged to be a derivative of the French “jardin” – the word for “garden,” but there is some disagreement as to whether it was adopted by people who were gardeners or simply because they lived near a garden. Some researchers have suggested that our antecedents came south from Scandinavia with a warrior named Ganger Rolf (860 A.D. – 927 A.D.) and settled in Normandy but there is scant documentation to verify this.

The first instance of the name in England, in the medieval form of du Jardon, appears in Hollingshead’s “Chronicles of England,” where it is listed in the record of followers of William the Conqueror when he invaded the country in 1066. After defeating the then ruler, Harold (II) Godwinson, William granted tracts of land to many of his followers as a reward for their support and it can be assumed that this is how the family first established itself in the country. Records show one William du Gerdyne as owning land around Kendal, Cumbria, on the edge of what is now known as the Lake District, in north west England, in 1304

The earliest record of the name in Scotland is of a Winfredus de Jardin whose signature is one of those witnessing the charter of the abbey of Kelso, the construction of which started in 1128. Fifty years later, in 1178, the construction of the abbey of Arbroath was begun and one Humphrey de Jardin was a witness to that charter. Presumably these men were related, the latter being the son or grandson of the former.

At the beginning of the 13th century a variation of the name, in the form of de Gardinus, appears, when Patrick de Gardinus was chaplain to the Bishop of Glasgow and in another variation Sir Humphrey Gardino, in 1245, witnessed a document concerning the resignation of land in Annandale, Dumfriesshire.

The Ragman Rolls, the name given to papers drawn up by the English monarch Edward I, in 1291 and 1296, were signed by about 2000 Scottish noblemen, landholders and clergy and the preservation of two copies of these documents provides an invaluable record for historians. Edward’s intention was to bind their allegiance to him but many signed in order to avoid having their estates confiscated as it must be borne in mind that, at that time, the wealthy frequently had holdings in both England and Scotland. Four Gardin’s appear as signatories and three of them list their area of residence; Willelmus de Gardyn(Gardin), William Gardin – county of Forfar, William du Gardin – county of Edinburgh and Umfrey du Gardin – county of Dumfries. Since a relatively small portion of the populace was able to read and write in those days the spelling of a name often varied from one document to another and it was left to the person recording the information to decide on how to spell a word or name. Phonetics were usually employed so the spelling varied according to accent or sometimes even because of a speech impediment.

The Jardines, having signed the Ragman Rolls, along with many other Scottish nobles, fought on the side of the English king at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, in 1297, where Edward I was routed by William Wallace and at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 where the Scottish army was defeated. Sometime after the defeat at Falkirk the Jardines, along with many of the other Lowland nobles who had supported Edward I, the Maxwells, the Bruces, the Lindsays and the Johnsons, changed sides, as they are on record as having fought with Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 – the battle which decided, once and for all, Scotland’s sovereignty.

The ancestors of the clan chief appear to have established themselves sometime in the fourteenth century in the area around Applegarth, Dumfriesshire and their original stronghold was a keep called Spedlins Tower. This structure, located in the Annandale Valley, on the banks of the river Annan, served as the principal residence and seat of the Jardines until the late 1600’s at which time they moved to a more spacious residence, Jardine Hall, across the river. Legend has it that the move was, in part, an effort to rid themselves of the ghost of James “Dunty” Porteous, a miller, who had been imprisoned in the tower dungeons. Sir Alexander Jardine, Lord of Applegarth, was chief at that time and had had Porteous arrested on a charge of incendiarism. When he was called to Edinburgh on business he inadvertently took with him the key to the dungeons and the prisoner was left without food or water. Discovering the key when he was in Edinburgh he sent it back by courier but by the time it arrived poor “Dunty” Porteous had starved to death and his ghost is said to have roamed the tower ever since.

The tower fell into disrepair and was a virtual ruin until quite recently when it was purchased by a Mr. and Mrs. Gray and restored to a habitable state.

Jardine Hall, when it was vacated, sometime in the twentieth century, suffered the same fate – it fell into a state of disrepair – and was subsequently demolished. One can still find sign posts directing one to the estate and site of the Hall but all that remains is the entranceway and stone flagged courtyard with the old clock tower looming over it.

Note: Much of the above material was researched and documented by Jerry Jardine and it is with his kind permission that it is incorporated in this web page.