Hermitage Castle
Grim Guardian of The Borders

By Norrie McLeish

As is the case with most ancient Scottish castles, the origins of Hermitage are obscure. The stream beside the castle was originally known as the Marching Burn but sometime about the end of the twelfth century, a reclusive hermit from whom the area derived its name inhabited the site. About the same time the land was held by a Norman family called De Bolebeck. This family could have been responsible for some of the earthworks beside the present castle. Those Norman families who were given land in Scotland had to erect a building, partly for shelter, but also as a base from which they could exercise control over the native inhabitants. They did this by constructing a “mote and bailey using local forced labor to build a mote or mound topped by a small wooden fort and surrounded by a stout fence. It is possible that the first Hermitage Castle was built on the site of such a deserted mote and bailey. The fact that it was surrounded by bogs and marsh would have made it even more defensible. It would have been needed, for the Norman incomers would have faced a native population bitterly resentful of these ruthless, alien incomers.

The De Soulis family appear to have become Lords of Liddesdale during the reign of David!. They were already a powerful family, having lands in Northamptonshire and in Haddington where their name is preserved in the village of Saltoun or Soulistoun. It is with this family that the area started to develop its sinister reputation. In 1207, monastic records tell us a Ranulph de Soulis was “assassinated by his domestics”. This Ranulph was the nephew of the first Lord of Liddesdale. It could be that this incident reflected the hostility between native serfs and Norman masters, or were the De Soulis family particularly harsh in their