Hermitage Castle
Goblinshead |
130 Inveresk Rd Musselburgh EH21 7AY SCOTLAND |
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| One of the most impressive and oppressive of Scottish fortresses, Hermitage Castle consists of a 13th-century courtyard and large 14th-century keep of four storeys, around which has been constructed a massive castle. In the 15th century a new rectangular wing was extended from the main keep. The property belonged to the Dacres, but passed to the De Soulis family. One of the family was a man of ill repute and said to dabble in witchcraft. Many local children were apparently seized by Soulis and never seen again. The local people, according to one story, eventually rebelled and Soulis was wrapped in lead and boiled in a cauldron, although he may actually have been imprisoned in Dumbarton Castle for supporting the English. The family were forfeited in 1320. The castle passed to the Grahams, then by marriage to the Douglas family. William Douglas, 'The Knight of Liddlesdale', was prominent in resisting Edward Balliol in 1330s. He seized Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, however, while at his devotions, imprisoned him in a dungeon at the castle, and starved him to death. In 1353 Douglas was murdered by his godson, another William Douglas, after he had tried to block his claim to the lordship of Douglas. In 1492 Archibald, 5th Earl of Angus, was forced to exchange Hermitage for Bothwell with Patrick Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell. In 1566 James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was badly wounded in a skirmish with the Border reiver 'Little Jock' Elliot of Park, and was paid a visit on his sick bed by Mary, Queen of Scots, who had ridden all the way from Jedburgh. The castle and title passed from the Hepburns to Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, then to the Scotts of Buccleuch about 1600. The castle was partly restored in the 19th century. |
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Fax:+44 (0) 131
653 6566 Tel: +44 (0) 131 665 2894
email:goblinshead@sol.co.uk
Text copyright of
Goblinshead
Coding and layout copyright Scotland
2000
