POULTER TARTAN

We are proud to announce that all of Ian Poulter tartans are milled in Scotland and Northern England. Each season we design and develop three unique distinctive tartans, all of which are registered with the Scottish Tartan Authority and carry the coat of arms 'Weave Truth With Trust'. You can view all of our tartans on line at : www.tartansauthority.com

The Celts expanded westward until the Atlantic ocean halted their progress, thus forcing them to settle in Western extremities – Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Over the millennia the culture and craft has been diluted, in some cases lost due to external influences, however despite the unique topography of the Scottish mountains, isolated glens and remoteness ensured that the Romans were kept at bay. Despite the lack of firm evidence, logic dictates that tartan in some form or another was woven and worn in the Highlands of Scotland during those 1600 years.

A major milestone in its History was the Jacobite rising of 1745 and the resultant Battle of Culloden in 1746, where for the first time clans were identified by the distinctive tartan designs they wore.
In the wake of Culloden the Government banned wearing tartan in the Scottish Highlands and at that point traditional skills disappeared. The ban was repealed in 1782 but it wasn't until 1822 that tartan was re-born. It was only when George IV visited Edinburgh and invited clan chiefs 'in all there highland finery' to join him, this for many resulted in the quest to find their lost heritage and their unique tartan clan.

The next boost for tartan came in 1842 with the publication of the Vestiarium Scoticum, a prestigious book containing 76 alleged ancient tartans clans discovered in a french manuscript. They were in fact the imaginative embellishments of existing tartans of two brothers – The Sobieski Stewarts, these tartans were widely and enthusiastically accepted by the Scottish 'high society'.

The final step in the apparent immortalisation of tartan came from Queen Victoria who ushered in the great Victorian love affair with Scotland. Much of Balmoral Castle was decked out in the 'Balmoral tartan' which had been especially designed for her Husband Prince Albert. From that period tartan has gone from strength to strength. Never has a year passed without a famous Couturier adding a tartan design to their collection. A phenomena that started life with less than one hundred designs has now exceeded 4000 designs of which 1000 can be found in Canada and America amongst others located in various corners of the globe. Almost 120 new tartans are developed every year and are registered with the Scottish Tartan Authority, adding Ian Poulter Design to their prestigious list.

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