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The name Wallace
originates from the Old French word "waleis" meaning a "welshman",
although the Scottish form is thought to refer to a Strathclyde Briton. Early records show
that the name was common in Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. The first record of the name was in
1160 when Richard Walensis witnessed a charter by Alan, son of Walter the High Steward.
Richard's lands in Ayrshire were named after him and the name survived as the town
and parish of Riccarton (Richard's town). His grandson, Adam had two sons, Adam, 4th Laird
of Riccarton and Malcolm who received the lands of Eldershire and Auchinbothie in
Elderslie, Renfrewshire. Malcolm was the father of Scotland's greatest patriot and hero,
Sir William Wallace who led the revolt against English rule before his demise and the
advent of the victory achieved at Bannockburn by Robert the Bruce in 1314. In his early
years, Wallace and his mother had to take refuge near Dunipace from the English because
they refused to pay homage to Edward I. While still very young, Wallace became the leader
of a company of patriots and his harassing tactics against the English earned him the
support of many nobles. His military genius made him hated and feared by Edward I, but he
was eventually captured by treachery at Robroyson near Glasgow and delivered to Edward I
by Sir John Mentieth. Wallace was unjustly tried for treason and brutally executed in
London in 1305. Having never sworn fealty to Edward I, he cannot have been guilty of
treason against him, however his example kindled a spirit of independence in Scotland
which remains to this day. At Stirling on top of the Abbey Craig stands the nation's
memorial to Wallace, built in 1896; in 1814 a huge statue was erected to his memory near
Dryburgh Abbey in the Scottish Borders. Upon the death of his brother, Lt. Col. Malcolm
Robert Wallace, on 9th December 1990, Ian Francis Wallace of that Ilk became the 35th
Chief of the Clan, Name and Family of Wallace.
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