Motto: Had I not strived, I would have perished.

The Anstruther family has been ranked highly among the Barons of Scotland for some eight centuries. The Scottish King, Alexander I, granted the lands of Anstruther in Fife to William de Candela..

It is known that in the year 1100, William de Candela was Lord of Anstruther. At that time it was customary for nobles to adopt their surnames from their lands; but it was rare to find a Scottish Baron who possessed a family name as well as his territorial designation. One of the few who had this distinction was William, Lord of Anstruther.

Various origins have been attributed to him but he is probably descended from the Normans in Italy. William the Conqueror sought help from them and it is known that William, Count of Apulia, sent a son. Thus William de Candela had already a noble name and in 1100, he was one of the most powerful Barons in Fife.

He lived through the reign of King David I of Scotland and did not die until the start of the reign of King Malcolm IV who became King in 1153.
William de Candela's son, also William, was a benefactor of Balmerino Abbey giving to the monks the site presently occupied by the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther. he died in the reign of King William The Lion which began in 1165.

Henry, in the next generation discontinued using the name Candela and is described as "Henricus de Aynstrother dominus ejusdem" in a charter (1221) confirming grants to Balmerino during the reign of King Alexander II. He was also the benefactor to the monastery of Dryburgh.

His son, Henry de Anstruther, Lord of Anstruther, was also a generous benefactor of the forementioned monasteries. He accompanied Loius IX (St. Louis) to the crusades. In his old age, he was forced to swear fealty for his barony of Anstruther to the English King, Edward I, in 1292 and then again, in 1296.

His son William de Anstruther, Lord of Anstruther, lived in the reign of Robert I. He confirmed the donations of his ancestors to the Abbey of Dryburgh.

His son, Henry de Anstruther, of Anstruther, was father of  Richard de Anstruther, of Anstruther, who lived to a great age and died in the reign of King James I of Scotland.

His son, Robert de Anstruther, of Anstruther, who died in the reign of James III of Scotland, married Elizabeth Balfour, a daughter of the ancient Fifeshire house of Balfour (later raised to the peerage under the title of the Lords Balfour, of Burleigh).

In 1483, his eldest son Andrew Anstruther, of Anstruther obtained confirmation of the barony and fought with King James IV at Flodden in 1513. He married the widow of David Hepburn, of Waughton. She was Christina Sandilands, daughter of Sir James Sandliands and the Princess Joanna of Scotland, daughter of King Robert II . (His youngest son fought at the battle of Pavia in 1520, in the King of France's Scots Regiment.) He seems to have married secondly, Janet Borthwick - with Royal consequences …

His eldest son, John Anstruther, of Anstruther ... was granted back the lands ... in 1517, after they had been in the King's hands for over two years. He had charters dated 1527 and 1542. He married firstly (Margaret) a Douglas of Loch Leven - ancestors to the Earls of Morton. He married secondly Elizabeth Spens, of Wormiston.

His son, Andrew Anstruther, was killed during his father's lifetime, in 1547, at the Battle of Pinkie. He had married Margaret Abercrombie, daughter of Thomas Abercrombie, of Abercrombie.

Their son was John Anstruther, of Anstruther, who suceeded his grandfather in 1548. He later had a son, James - born to Margaret Clephane - daughter of George Clephane, of Carslogie (a family now represented by the Marquess of Northampton).

Sir James Anstruther (d. 1606) was chosen as a companion of the young King James VI, who in 1585 appointed him Hereditary Grand Carver. This office is still held by the head of the family. In 1595, he became Master of the Royal Household. He married (1571) Jean Scott, daughter of Sir Thomas Scott, of Abbotshall.

They had two daughters - Jean Anstruther and Margaret Anstruther and two sons. The eldest son, William Anstruther, of Anstruther, (d. 1649) was confirmed as heir to his father in 1606 in the barony of Anstruther. He was appointed a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to James I. Knight of the Bath (1603). He married (1601) Euphemia Wemyss, daughter of Sir Andrew Wemyss of Myrecairnie, Fife, (a Lord of Sessions). He died leaving no heir and was succeeded by his nephew, * Sir Philip Anstruther.

The Second Son
Sir Robert Anstruther , of Wheatley, Yorkshire (jure uxoris). (d. 1645) - was appointed Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King James I and Privy Councillor to King Charles I. He was Ambassador to Denmark (1620) and to Germany (1627, 1629 and 1630) He married Mary Swift, daughter of Sir Edward Swift and the sister of Viscount Carlingford. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Their daughters were Christian Anstruther who married Sir J. Henderson Bt., of Fordel and Jean Anstruther who married James Makgill, of Rankeillor.

They had six sons, of whom, the eldest son
* Sir Philip Anstruther (d. 1702) fought on the Royalist side in the civil war. He was a zealous and devoted soldier and held a command in the King's army. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Worcester. He was heavily fined by Cromwell and his estates were sequestered. They were returned to him at the time of the Restoration. He received Charles II at Dreel Castle after his coronation at Scone in 1651. He succeeded his uncle.

The ruins of Dreel Castle may still be seen by the mouth of the Dreel Burn in Anstruther Easter, Fife. Charles II described its tower room as "a craw's (crow's) nest".

He married Christian Lumsden, daughter of General Sir James Lumsden, of Innerhelly (who distinguished himself in the service of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden).

Sir Philip Anstruther and Christian Lumsden had 7 sons of whom two lived to become baronets and three others knights.

1. Sir William Anstruther, of Anstruther, his heir - M.P. (1681-1707). Created Lord of Sessions (1699) with the title of Lord Anstruther. He marrried (1677) Lady Helen Hamilton (daughter of the 4th Earl of Haddington). He died in 1711.

Their son, Sir John Anstruther, of Anstruther was born in 1678. 1st Bt of Anstruther (1700). M.P. for Fife (1721) He married (1717) Lady Margaret Carmichael, eldest daughter of 2nd Earl of Hyndford, ("in right of whom the family of Anstruther have inherited as heirs general the estates and representations of the Earls of Hyndford") which is when the estates of Carmichael in Lanarkshire came into the hands of the Anstruthers. Sir John died ca.1754 and was suceeded by his son, Sir John Anstruther - 2nd Bt. of that Ilk, and Bt. Anstruther - married Janet Fall. (q.v.- Carmichael Anstruther)

2. Sir James Anstruther of Airdrie, married Katherine Skene. They had one son, General Philip Anstruther, M.P. He died unmarried.

3. Sir Robert Anstruther of Balcaskie

4. Sir Philip Anstruther of Anstrutherfield - married Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter and heir of James Hamilton. There were children of the marriage - among whom were Philip Anstruther and Christian Anstruther who married John Stewart, 6th Earl of Traquair. Sir Philip died in 1722.

5. Sir Alexander Anstruther married (1664) Jean Leslie, titular Baroness Newark (d.1740). There were children of the marriage among whom were William 3rd and Alexander 4th titular Lords Newark. Sir Alexander Anstruther died in 1743.