| The
Mouat family
Are
you a Mouat? - If so, you are part of a family whose descent
goes back to the Norman Conquest of 1066. Mouat is still
a familiar family name in the north of Scotland, particularly
in Caithness, Orkney and Shetland. Belmont is part
of your heritage - a part to be proud of.
Early history of the Mouats
The Mouats had originally come from Normandy and one
of them arrived in Scotland during the reign of David
I (1124-1153). In the fifteenth century descendants
of the original knight moved north, to Aberdeenshire
and Caithness, where they had castles at Balquholly
and Freswick. How the Mouats arrived in Shetland
The Shetland Mouats trace their descent from Andrew,
second son of Mouat of Swinzie in Caithness; King James
IV granted Andrew Mouat a charter in 1577 when he seems
to have settled in the north mainland area of Shetland,
where his descendants also lived, though his second
wife was Norwegian, Lady Elsie Trondsdaughter, so that
there were Mouat relations in Norway too. The Mouats
were important people in Shetland and most of them
held public office; one of them, James Mouat of Ollaberry,
was a commissioner for Zetland to the General Assembly
of 1641. James granted his brother Thomas a charter
of lands in Garth, close to the modern site of the
Sullom Voe Oil Terminal. Thomas built a house there,
with a carved armorial panel above the door. The move to Unst
The descendants of this Thomas henceforth carried
the designation ''Garth'', to distinguish themselves
from other Mouat families. By the eighteenth century
the Mouats of Garth were established in the North isles
of Shetland. One of them, William, had a long career
as shipmaster and merchant in Unst. He became a landowner
through inheriting the property of his uncle and financed
the building of his son's house at Belmont.
Thomas Mouat, William's son, lived from 1748 to 1819,
and built Belmont in 1775. Before he did so he travelled
widely in England and Scotland and his house illustrates
his liking for the classical symmetrical rational architecture
of the time. The detailing in the house, including
the original paint colours, can still be seen. Thomas
and his wife Elizabeth lived at Belmont for the rest
of their lives. They had no children, but their neice
Margaret lived with them from the age of 2, and was
in every respect other than physical parenthood a loving
and loved daughter. She married Lieutenant William
Cameron of the 78th Highlanders and the story of her
family fills the 19th century. Through Margaret, the
Mouat name was to live on.
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