Origins Traditionally the original ancestor of the Clan Cochrane in
Scotland was a Scandinavian Viking who settled in what is now known as
Renfrewshire, between the eighth and tenth centuries. The origin of the name itself is believed to be derived from two
Gaelic words which jointly mean
The Roar of the Battle or
Battle Cry. Other early bearers of the name are William
de Coughran in 1296, who signed submission to King Edward the First in the Ragman Roll; and Robert
de Cochrane in about 1360. The name of 1296 appears in the
Ragman Rolls swearing fealty to
Edward I of England.
14th, 15th and 16th centuries In 1346 John de Coveran appears as a witness in the election of an
Abbot of Paisley. Goseline de Cochran appears as a witness to several grants made by Robert the Steward to
Paisley Abbey in 1366.
Robert Cochrane (later to become an Earl of Mar (1458–79) constructed most of what is still standing of
Auchindoun Castle. It was passed to the
Clan Ogilvy in 1489 and from them to the
Clan Gordon in 1535. In 1456 Robert Cochrane of Cochrane resigned the lands of Cochrane to his successor Allen Cochrane who received a charter from King
James II of Scotland. Edward Cochrane was accused but cleared of having anything to do with the detention of King
James III of Scotland at
Edinburgh Castle in 1482. In 1556 William Cochrane, chief of Clan Cochrane obtained a charter of confirmation for the lands of Cochrane from
Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1584 chief William Cochrane, along with several others, was charged with being involved in the murder of Patrick
Maxwell, but Cochrane was never brought to trial. In 1592 the
Clan MacKintosh sacked
Auchindoun Castle, which had been built by Clan Cochrane but which at the time belonged to the 6th Earl of Huntly, George Gordon, in retaliation for his killing of their ally, the Bonny Earl of Moray. Also in 1592 chief William Cochrane built a high free stone tower, known as Cochrane Tower or
Cochrane Castle.
17th century and Civil War In about 1350
Robert II of Scotland had built
Dundonald Castle in
Ayrshire. The castle came into Cochrane hands in about 1638 and it was from there that William Cochrane, 1st Earl of Dundonald took his title. During the Civil War of the 17th century the Clan Cochrane supported the royalist cause. Throughout the war clansman Sir John Cochrane travelled extensively abroad as the king's representative. The chief 'Lord Cochrane' fought in the royalist army at the
Battle of Preston (1648). In 1669 the Cochrane chief's title was raised from a Lord to an Earl when Sir William Cochrane was created 1st
Earl of Dundonald. After the death of the 7th Earl, the descendants of Sir William's second son became the Earls.
18th century and Jacobite risings During the
Jacobite rising of 1745 the main part of Clan Cochrane supported the British government and in the government army under
General Sir John Cope there were two Cochrane officers; Captain John Cochrane and Captain Basil Cochrane, both were clansmen related to the chief, Earl of Dundonald. Both were taken prisoner at the
Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. However, on the Jacobite side William Cochrane of Ferguslie shared in the victory. In October 1745 the seventh Earl of Dundonald had his horse shot from underneath him by Jacobites at the
West Port, Edinburgh. Later throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Cochranes distinguished themselves in both land and naval forces, and came to be nicknamed the "Fighting Cochranes." The Cochranes are known to have played an important role during the
Napoleonic Wars. The most noteworthy of these fighting Cochranes was
Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775–1860) who joined the Royal Navy at the age of 18. The high point of his career was when a brig under his command with a crew of only fifty-four managed to capture a Spanish frigate with a crew of over three hundred sailors and 32 heavy guns. He followed this by defending
Trinidad Castle against the French in 1808. He later became the commander of Chile's navy and assisted that country, along with
Peru, Brazil and
Greece, to become independent. He was known as Lord Cochrane. He is buried at
Westminster Abbey in
Westminster, London.
20th century The father of the present chief, who was the fourteenth Earl served with the
Black Watch, then during World War Two, he served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Greece. When the war ended, he served with the War Office and in Germany until he retired in 1953. Sir
Ralph Cochrane the youngest son of Thomas Cochrane, 1st Baron Cochrane of Cults, was a British pilot and
Royal Air Force officer, perhaps best known for his role in Operation Chastise–the famous "Dambusters" raid. ==Clan chief==