Departures of note

In 1787 Lady Catherine Bruce of Clackmannan received poet Robert Burns at Clackmannan Tower and knighted him with a family sword said to have belonged to Robert the Bruce, from which she and her husband claimed descent. Burns's companion Dr. Adair described her as almost deprived of speech by a paralytic affection but still preserving hospitality and urbanity, and she said she had a better right to confer knighthood than some people, implying the Hanoverian monarchs were illegitimate.

Lady Catherine Bruce also unofficially knighted other select guests over the years with the same sword, including Dr. John Jamieson, editor of the Scots Dictionary. After her death the sword passed to the Earl of Elgin and was first displayed publicly in 2018 by the Broomhall Estate.