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d >> Team Liddell et al << c

No Longer Separated by Oceans and Centuries

The Hermitage Castle,

A Place from Which to Rule

In the Scot Borderland

In this piece, Liddel is the form used for a surname that also can be spelt with equal confidence as Liddell, Liddle, Lydell, and Lidell. This essay is taken by JWL largely from "The Hermitage Castle" tourist brochure.

The isolated valley of the Hermitage Water in Liddesdale is said to have been the home long ago of a holy man of God. It is certainly a lonely spot. The feeling of foreboding is heightened by the presence of the awesome castle ruin--the inspiration of local legends, of the wicked Lord Soules and of a giant with impregnable armour. In truth, though, Hermitage needs no myths. It already has a history of family murders, illicit affairs, romantic trysts, torture, treason and intrigue sufficient for a host of castles. (--From "The Hermitage Castle")

Referred to as "the guardhouse of the bloodiest valley in Britian", the Hermitage was variously known as the Strength of Liddesdale and the Strength of Scotland because of its being the key to control over much of the Border Country of Scotland and England. It stands substantially still complete about 12 miles south of Hawick in Liddesdale and east of New Castleton (New Castle Town), which takes its name from this nearby structure.

Although there was an earlier motte-and-bailey (earth and timber walled fortification) at the site of presently indeterminable age, The Hermitage Castle is known to have been founded in AD 1242 also as a motte-and-bailey, and then altered into its present masonry form during the 1300s and 1400s.

As with any valuable piece of real estate over a long period, the castle and site have known many owners--de Soulis, Wake, Neville, Dacre, Douglas, Angus, Stewart, Sir Walter Scott, and notably by Hepburn of Bothwell among them. It was here that Mary Queen of Scots had her love affair with one of the Bothwells and sealed her doom through its eventually becoming generally known.

It has inspired many who have seen it and lived in it, including Sir Walter Scott who based one of his most famous novels, "The Bride of Lammermoor", in part on it. The novel later became the liberto for "Lucida de Lammermoor", one of Grand Opera's most compelling pieces, the major aria of which built Australian Dame Joan Sutherland's reputation as the leading coloratura sopranos of this age. The aria is sheer genius--one and at the same time haunting, sad, compelling and beautiful. And, also, a true challenge to the women who attempting its splendidly soaring notes.

The Hermitage lost its military importance only in the 1700s when gunpowder and artillery became the leading forces in military combat.

The Norman line of de Soulis were the first to rule from the site in known history, and from their earlier Liddle Castle several miles away from about the early 1100s. Their fiefdom ended when, in 1320, William de Soulis attempted but failed to assassinate Robert the Bruce, then Robert I King of Scotland. Contrary to the brochure and popular legend, however, Williams merely forfeited the castle and estate and was allowed to exile himself to France. He had been so powerful because of his position in The Hermitage, that even so popular a king as Robert dared not to execute or even inconvenience William with imprisonment. Yes, kings, too, have to be politicians at times!

The departure of the de Soules following the assassination attempt, however, set off a lengthy war between Scotland and England, and in 1328, when a "final peace" was signed between Scotland and England, the castle's importance to the domination of the borderland was recognized in the treaty, with one provision specifically requiring the transfer of the castle to the Englishman, Sir John Wake of Liddel in Cumberland. This then led to a nearly bewildering series of owners both Scot and English over the following centuries that included the English Throne for security reasons on several occasions.

Today, the castle is now owned by the "Scot State" and is slowly being restored, perhaps to original condition but plans do not yet extend that far in specific detail.

Possession of Hermitage Castle during its heyday bestowed a very peculiar status on a man--a status that had equal mixtures of being able to sincerely aspire to the Throne of Scotland, of maintaining easy conspiracal relationships with English allies across the nearby border in ways that could be designed to betray Scotland and/or the holder of her Throne to others, of being highly suspect and potentially traitorous to the Scot Throne at all times, of being so physically close to the Throne as to be a key advisor in state affairs, and by necessity because of the nearness of an international border, of likely being more skilled in international affairs than the Scot Throne and Court, both.

--Heavy, heavy indeed, always hung a sword over the head of the holder of The Hermitage but also, for the bold and intelligent man, a sword that just as easily be snatched down and welded to personal advantage.

As stated earlier, the present structure stands partially on the foundations of the foundations of two older castles--the motte-and-bailey of the de Soules and one that preceded them in its presence but about which almost nothing is known. The name of Hermitage is based on an ancient belief that a hermitage once kept his cell on the grounds or in a nearby cave. The site is, indeed, lonely and in the midst of far-ranging low mountains and ridges. A few miles away is a late-Bronze Age Druid's Circle, the Nine Stang Rig which actually may have seen the presence of Merlin and of King Arthur in the AD 800s, according to the older legends about them.

The Hermitage Water--about 10-12 feet wide--flows nearby to the south of the castle from slightly northwest to slightly southeast. Ditches and what must have been a moat system lie on the other three sides of the castle. To the immediate north is a sizable earth platform that served the earliest castle and later outbuildings of the present one. To the immediate west is the V-shaped Ravelin, or artillery breastworks.

While formally deemed a castle, the Hermitage is more a fortress without grace or beauty but still, vastly impressive in its sheer projection of force and power. This is a man's building for no princess would ever view this castle with Disneyland-like abandonment--but at the same time, that princess would have lived most securely within its walls during the years of medievality.

The main walls of The Hermitage Castle stand approximately 100 feet high, and the structure is more a hollowed-out cube of stone than it is a building per se. In places the walls are ten or more feet thick and very solidly built of interlocking ashlers. Very few outside openings are present other than archery slots and, later, a scattering of gunports for cannons. The squarish openings high on the walls are actually sizable doorways that once opened onto a "horading" of wood construction that was built all around the castle during times of pending trouble for the castle defenders to go onto to keep sappers from undermining the walls and to drop heavy objects and perhaps even pour boiling oil onto attackers.

Since the hoarding would have been above the reach of upward-shot arrows, the danger for defenders was not too great even though defensive wood protection walls also were part of this some-time addition. And, of course, being entirely of wood, the addition of the hoarding contributed little to the upper weight of the wall and largely relieved and largely eliminated the stress that a permanent all-stone construction would have added.

The castle has five main sections that flow into each other to form an "I" lying on its side with the crossbars facing east and west. The business side of the castle faced east and the social side faced west. Clockwise from the northeast, these sections are the Prison Tower, Well Tower, Kitchen Tower and a residency tower. In the center, and linking the two north-south extended cross-bar ends, is the smaller Central Tower. The master of the place probably lived on the upper levels of the Kitchen Tower and everyone else lived on the upper levels of the remaining portion with the possible exception of the Prison Tower. The affairs of the castle, ranging from cooking and food preparation to craft shops and even several levels and degrees of prisonment, were on the lower levels.

As best as can be presently understood, there were a minimum of five levels, or floors, throughout the castle, not counting whatever was under the roof, or attics, which may have provided an additional two levels.

Interior latrines were built into the walls of the private upper-level residencies. Each emptied into "cesspits" cut into the ground inside the walls. One such pit lay immediately next to the kitchen but was later moved during the Bothwell era outside the south wall, likely because of the odors rising into the castle ruler's apartment, rather than for sanitary reasons.

While The Hermitage shares a few archaeological features with other castles of its vintage, it largely is its own creature and a prime example of medieval and near-modern age masonry fortification construction.

Team Members can learn more about The Hermitage Castle in our private Liddesdale2 Archival Site. Additional details and a list of other sources are in the Files Section of our Liddesdale Site.

Visitors to this site are referred to www.aboutscotland.com and www.castles.org. (If these are not active links, then please copy and paste into your browser.)

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