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Castle History > The Ghost
On the 25th September 1570 it was recorded that the Lady Marion Carruthers "did willfully take her own life by leaping from the lookout tower of Comlongon Castle" where she was being held captive and did "break her head and bones". Subsequently it was noticed that no grass would grow on the spot where she fell and an apparition of a young lady was often seen in and around the castle usually crying.
The events which lead up to her death began when her father, Sir Simon Carruthers, Baron of Mouswald Castle some four miles away from here, was persuaded to leave his estate to his two daughters Marion and Janet since he had no son. The powerful Douglas family of Drumlanrig had designs on the estate and Sir James Douglas obtained consent to marry Marion and thus get her part of it. However another local Baron, Lord Maxwell of nearby Caerlaverock Castle, took and occupied Mouswald Castle hoping to thwart the Douglas claim. They however contested his right to occupy the Castle stating that they had prior rights by way of a marriage contract.
The case was settled by Privy Council in 1563 when Marion was ordered into the wardenship of Borthwick Castle and told not to try to return home until the marriage was settled. However she did escape and sought sanctuary in Comlongon Castle, owned by her uncle, Sir William Murray, and shortly after gave over half of her dowry to him, hoping this would persuade James Douglas not to enforce the marriage contract. However he was not to be dissuaded and instead sued through the courts for his 'just inheritance' i.e. Marion's estate, and he won the case. Marion was ordered to surrender herself to James.
Possibly distressed to the point of madness after such a long battle to avoid marriage she threw herself from the battlements or so it was said. However, long after her death rumours began which suggested that some of Douglas's men gained access to her chamber and tossed her from the battlements. Thus James Douglas was able to obtain her half of the Mouswald Estate without having to marry her.
Because suicide was suspected at the time poor Marion was not given a proper Christian burial and so it is believed that she haunts the castle forever looking for a proper resting place.
Castle History > Castle Life
The practice of kidnapping individuals and demanding ransom, 'the black meal' (blackmail) was a widespread activity in the Border region, generating a vast amount of wealth for the families individually engaged in such activity.
Most strongholds in the region employed groups of mercenaries known as reivers (or Raiders). These highly motivated soldiers would organise bloody Border raids to loot and kidnap, indeed to be visited by such a raiding party coined the phrase, to be bereaved. Once an individual was taken, he was dragged back to the castle, shackled and lowered through the hatch to the pit below and sealed (the shackles can still be seen on the wall of the guard room today).
This left the unfortunate soul trapped in a foul smelling, soundproof, pitch black dungeon, confined until a ransom was agreed to be paid. Starved if necessary, the prisoner was eventually dragged from the pit and placed in the next room, the pledge chamber. The exact terms of the pledge, or ransom, was carefully negotiated and written in the form of a contract, witnessed and signed. From then on the treatment greatly improved, achieving the status of an honoured guest under arrest, evidenced by the en-suite facilities provided (the Garderobe).
Ransoms at this time were usually paid in the form of sheep or cattle, resulting in certain families amassing considerable fortunes and creating some of the most powerful and influential families in the borders. Once the ransom arrived at the castle, the prisoner was released to return home to his family.
Continuing up the main staircase gains access to the upper floors, above the Great Hall is a large open plan room, a solar, where the lairds family would sleep in a dormitory style room, hence the need for curtains around four poster beds. This room in the 16th century was subdivided into segregated sleeping arrangements. Above the solar chamber was the servants quarters known as the "windy hall", presumably this level was unglazed. The staircase then terminates at the battlements which run completely around the castle, encompassing parapets, murder holes, garrets, watch towers and guard house. It is believed that the barracks could contain up to 20 mercenaries. This level has been greatly altered over the centuries, originally being constructed from wood.
It is clear that preconceptions about life in a castle often cloud perceptions. Far from the bare draughty structures imagined, these buildings were warm pleasant, often luxurious places. When one remembers the owners of such castles were by modern day standards multi-millionaires, it is quite conceivable every comfort available at the time would be utilised to increase living standards, and as such, for those within the castle the surroundings would have been most pleasant.