2025 Chief of the Greenville Scottish Games
Margaret Frances Boswell Elliot of Redheugh
29th Chief of Clan Elliot
Margaret inherited the Chiefship from her father, Sir Arthur Eliott of Stobs, upon his passing in 1989. Since then, she has run the International Clan Society with a great deal of help from all her representatives abroad.
She holds Clan Gatherings every four years at her home, Redheugh, just outside of Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders. She writes newsletters to the Clan and welcomes Elliot’s from all over the world to the Clan Museum at Redheugh. She has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs and has served as Vice Convenor for the Council. She was heavily involved in the first Convention held at the Scottish Parliament in 2009, helped to organize the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden Field in 2013, which helped raise funds for military charities.
She has been very active in the Newcastleton community and in the Scottish Borders as well. She established a Floral Group that has been recognized with Gold Medals in National competitions and raised money to replace children’s playgrounds also. Upon the passing of her father, Margaret created the Sir Arthur Eliott Memorial Trust which gives annual grants to advance education and provide facilities in the interest of social welfare within the parish.
Margaret was commissioned as Deputy Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick, and Lauderdale in 2009 by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant, Captain The Hon. Gerald Maitland-Carew of Thirlestane Castle. She is also Trustee of the renowned annual Boswell Book Festival which takes place in Ayrshire.
Margaret had two children, Ben and Kate with her husband Anthony Vaughan-Arbuckle, who passed away in 1985. She married Christopher Wilkins in 1990, and together they share their time between Redheugh and London. Her daughter, Kate, married Nic Verbij and lives in Haarlem with two children. Her son, Ben, has a business Legalesign based in Cambridge, is married to Emily and they have a son, Arthur.
Brief History of Clan Elliot
In 1977, the Elliot Clan Society was formed by the Clan’s late hereditary Chief, Sir Arthur Eliott, 11th Baronet of Stobs and Laird of Redheugh, the ancient seat of the Clan Chiefs.
Our present Chief is Sir Arthur’s daughter, Margaret Eliott of Redheugh, the 29th Elliot Clan Chief.
The primary purposes of this Society, which is headquartered in Redheugh, are to preserve the history and traditions of the Clan, and to promote a spirit of kinship among its members. In the words of Sir Arthur, “the tie is essentially a family one, transcending national boundaries and disregarding distinctions of age, sex, wealth or status. Thus our Clan Society is more than a club and more even than what is generally understood by a ‘Society’. It is above all, a family association and has been formed for those of us who feel that this ancient tie is of special interest and value to our modern world.”
The Elliots have existed as a Clan with a recognized Chief at least from the time of King Robert the Bruce (1306-1329) to the present day. Before the Union of the Crowns in 1603, they held that part of the frontier with England known as “The Middle March” — their Chief usually being appointed Captain of Hermitage Castle in Liddesdale, and they became famous as one of the great “riding” clans of the Scottish borders.
Later the Elliots were notable for the part they played as leaders in the expansion of Britain overseas, and in the settlement of the New World, where their independence of character for which the Clan has always been renowned, made them particularly welcome. In the modern world, the Elliots have prospered and the Clan is now widely spread throughout the world.
