made up of memories from the old village of Castletown and later transferred to a single person.

According to one of the legends the Cout of Keelder, one of Lord Soulis’ greatest enemies, was out hunting when he strayed into Liddesdale. Working his evil magic, Lord Soulis enticed the young knight and his followers to Hermitage Castle. When they arrived the wicked lord cast a spell to which all the Couts followers succumbed. The young knight however, was protected by his magic helmet and managed to escape from the castle only to drown in Hermitage Water during a desperate struggle with the De Soulis men. On the left of the chapel, beside the spot where he is supposed to have met his death, is a mound which tradition says is the grave of the Cout of Keelder.

History tells us that in 1290, the Guardians of Scotland commanded Sir William de Soulis, Lord of Liddesdale, to arrest Sir Richard Knout, Sheriff of Cumbria, and bring him to Edinburgh. In order to do this in a legal fashion, it was necessary that Sir Richard be captured on Scottish soil. Less than a year later a document refers to the executors of the late Sir Richard Knout. We do not know how he met his death but the hill at the foot of the Chapel was long known as the Deer Park. The grave of the Cout measured some ten feet in length, a recent visitor remarked on it to the local gravedigger who replied, “Ah, weel’e ken, it’s the Cout’s, an’ as he was a very big man aw pit other twae feet t’ill’t masel”. So do legends grow!

Over the centuries stories about the legendary wickedness of Lord Soulis grew in the fertile ground of local lore. He mistreated his peasants and terrorized his neighbors. He decoyed Armstrong, the Laird of Mangerton, to Hermitage and after entertaining him to a feast, cruelly murdered him. This deed was made all the more shocking as Mangerton had previously saved the life of his ungrateful lord. Aiding and abetting him in all this wickedness was his accomplice, Red Ringan, who faithfully carried out his master’s commands. According to a ballad, their downfall came about when Soulis abducted a young girl who was promised to the Laird of Branxholm. In order to forestall any opposition, Red Ringan was sent to capture Branxholm Tower and bring the young laird to Hermitage. Red Ringan succeeded in capturing the young laird but failed to take the tower when his men got stuck in a bog. Mean while, Branxholm’s brother, Walter the Bold, with a large band of men took Hermitage, rescued the captives and took Soulis prisoner. They took him out to Nine Stane Rig and there boiled him alive in a cauldron after winding him in a sheet of lead. It is said that the cauldron had been prepared for a long time and that the justification for such a barbaric act had come from the king himself. Growing weary of the constant complaints of De Soulis’ tenants, he had exclaimed “Boil him if you please, but let me hear no more of him!”

History tells the story a little differently. In 1320 William de Soulis was arrested by King Robert I for taking part in a conspiracy to replace him on the throne. When he was arrested De Soulis was accompanied by over three hundred retainers, all wearing the De Soulis livery. The reasons for the conspiracy are obscure, but a number of the nobility were unhappy at the distribution of land after Bruce’s victory. De Soulis also had royal blood and was a member of one of the most