Field Visit
Date 6 March 1996
Event ID 1130091
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1130091
The rough pasture to the N of Hermitage Castle (NY49NE 5) is enclosed by the remains of a park pale, known as the White Dyke, and includes within its compass an open-ended structure that may be a medieval deer-trap.
The possible deer trap comprises two arcs of dyke, which converge over a distance of about 300m from an opening some 600m wide on the W to a gap just 10m across at the E, just short of the Castle. The deer-trap dyke comprises a bank some 0.5m high with an internal ditch, but where the dyke runs down to Lady's Sike from the N, weathering of the ditch has all but removed the bank. The N dyke describes an arc across the gully of the Lady's Sike (NY 4925 9662 to NY 4954 9605), and the S dyke extends from the NW corner of the moated site at Hermitage Chapel (NY49NE 4) along the edge of a terrace above Hermitage Chapel to just short of Hermitage Castle (NY 4955 9604). Together, they form a funnel to trap deer driven off the hill to the W. In a second phase the S dyke was rebuilt with a bank and ditch that extends from the NE corner of the moated site at Hermitage Chapel (NY49NE 4) uphill towards the primary dyke, where it turns a right-angle, to run along the earlier line towards the Castle; in consequence, the profile of the bank in this sector which stands over a metre high in places. The deer-trap was designed for a drive rather than a chase; the dykes providing a narrow overlooked space for a killing-ground.
The rebuilding of the dyke on the S side of the deer trap may be associated with the construction of a large enclosed park of about 114ha, delimited by the White Dyke on the N and E, and the river Hermitage on the S. The position of the W side of the park is uncertain, although a secondary dyke cuts across the area from the White Dyke on the N to the moated site on the S (see below). The White Dyke runs in an arc from Coldwell Snab (NY 4881 9710) on the NW to the head of the Green Sike on the NE, and thence down the E bank of the sike to its lower reaches (NY 5012 9633), where it diverges SSE to the edge of the Hermitage Water (NY 5012 9584), a total distance of 2.5kms. For much of its course the White Dyke is a stone dyke up to about 1m high, but, where it leaves the Green Sike on the S, it becomes a bank and ditch with the ditch on the outside of the enclosure. The W end of the dyke is much dilapidated and disappears in bracken-covered broken ground on the hillslope above the head of the Day Sike, but there is no evidence that it continued down to the sike. The secondary dyke on the W abuts the S side of the White Dyke some 200m from the W end. This dyke, comprising a bank with a ditch on the inside, runs in a straight line from the high ground on the side of Hermitage Hill (NY 4900 9717) to ride over the E spur of Ladys Knowe (NY 4923 9628), cutting through the ridge and furrow on the NE flank of the knowe. At this point it turns slightly to the E to run down to the edge of the terrace above Hermitage Chapel. Here it stops on the N edge of the ditch of the dyke forming the S side of the deer trap, but its line is roughly extended by two banks with a medial ditch that drop down to the corner of the moated site (NY49NE 4). The curious way in which the W end of the White Dyke peters out on the open hill raises several questions to the precise function of the White Dyke and the operation of the Deer Park. Possibly there was a change of plan, which was completed by the insertion of the secondary dyke, but the relationship of this dyke to the rig and furrow on Lady's Knowe may indicate that it is considerably later in date.
The 1st edition OS 6-inch map annotates the area 'Deer Park' (Roxburghshire 1863, sheet xlii), and Hermitage Park is listed in the rental of 1376 under the Forest, suggesting that the area of the park may have been valued as much for its grazing as a deer park (Reg Hon Mort 1853). However, the 1718 estate map which depicts the boundaries of the farm of Hermitage, neither shows the White Dyke nor makes any reference to a deer park, and the boundaries of the farm include an area that is much larger than that enclosed by the White Dyke, and cannot be confused with it (Records of Scotland, RHP 9629). The Braidlie Day Book (Borders Museum Service, Hawick) records the survey and construction of a dyke around Hermitage Park in 1750 and 1752, which provides circumstantial support for the White Dyke being 18th century in date.
Visited by RCAHMS (PJD) 6 March 1996
Reg Hon Mort 1853
