Dule Tree
Encyclopedia
Dule or dool trees in Britain were used as gallows
for public hangings. They were also used as gibbet
s for the display of the corpse for a considerable period of time after such hangings. These "Trees of Lamentation or Grief" were usually growing in prominent positions or at busy thoroughfares, particularly at crossroads, so that justice could be seen to have been done and as a salutary warning to others.
, Dule or Duill, also dole, dowle; dwle, dul, dull, duyl, duile, doile, doill, dewle, deull, and duel. In Middle English
, dule, duyl, dulle, deul, dewle and variants of doole, dole, and dool. All these words mean sorrow, grief, or mental distress.
These Baronies belonged to the same order as Earls and these Earls and Barons together formed the Order of the Three 'Estaits' of the Scots Parliament known as The Baronage of Scotland. The Barons sat in the Scots Parliament until 1587, when they were relieved from attendance, which was burdensome and costly. The right of pit and gallows was removed in 1747 by the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746
, lesser powers continued to the twentieth century.
Dule trees were also used by Highland Chieftains, who would hang their enemies or any deserter, murderer, etc. from the Dool Tree. Highland clan chiefs also therefore had the power of 'life or death' over their clansmen in times gone by. The high ground on which these trees grew often became known as 'Gallows Hill'.
It is not clear whether the Moot
or Justice Hills were also the site of the gallows. Some of the place names suggest that they could have been and many were certainly in a prominent position for the display of a corpse to warn others of the consequences of wrongdoing.
Medieval Song
(sung in the round)
, near Huntly, Aberdeenshire
. This tree, a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), was used as a natural gibbet and a means for publicly carrying out feudal justice. The strong timber, not prone to snapping, of sycamore made this a favoured species for this purpose. Incidentally, sycamores used to be known as 'plane' trees in Scotland
. Leith Hall dates from about 1650 and the tree was possibly planted shortly after this. A rather gaunt and heavily branched tree, the trunk measures 116 cm in diameter.
At Cessnock Castle near Galston, East Ayrshire
is a dule tree, a gnarled specimen of Castanea sativa - sweet chestnut
.
An old beech tree is still known as a 'Gallows Tree' and grows in an exposed position near Monikie
in Angus.
The Dule tree at Cassillis Castle in South Ayrshire
was blown down in a great storm during the winter of 1939-40 and when the rings on its trunk were counted, it was found to be about 200 years old. A new Dule tree, grown from a cutting taken from the old one, a plane tree or sycamore maple
now stands on the original site. John or Johnny Faa, King of the Gypsies
is said to have been hanged from the Cassillis Dule Tree, together with some of his supporters. On the Water of Minnoch is a deep pool known as the 'Murder Hole' in which a family from Rowantree dumped their victims; they were caught, confessed and were the last to be hanged on the dule tree.
Kilkerran house in South Ayrshire has a dule tree in its grounds.
The ancient sycamore that stands in the shadow of Blairquhan Castle
, near Straiton
, South Ayrshire
is thought to be Dule Tree, planted early in the 16th century during the reign of King James V of Scotland. The moss-covered trunk has a girth of 5.6 metres (18 feet 4 inches), and is completely hollow, with only a very thin outer shell of sound wood supporting the tree. The once spreading crown was heavily pruned in 1997 in an effort to preserve the fragile shell and prevent the much-weakened trunk from total collapse. Vigorous new growth is now establishing a new, smaller crown.
Near the village of Logierait
in Perthshire
is the hollow ` Ash Tree of the Boat of Logierait, ' which, 63 feet in height and 40 in girth at 3 feet from the ground, is said to have been ` the dool tree of the district, on which caitiffs and robbers were formerly executed, and their bodies left hanging till they dropped and lay around unburied. '
An example may still exist at Bargany in South Ayrshire where a European Ash
(Fraxinus excelsior), served the role of the baronial dule tree.
An example is said to survive at Douglas Castle, located around 1 km north-east of the village of Douglas, South Lanarkshire
aka Castle Dangerous
of Sir Walter Scott's novel of that name.
Smith records in 1895 that the stump of the Dule tree at Newark Castle
was carefully preserved.
Hangman's Elm
, or simply "The Hanging Tree", is an English Elm
located in New York City, over 300 years old. Traitors are said to have been hanged at this location during the American Revolutionary War. Later, the Marquis de Lafayette is said to have witnessed the 'festive' hanging of 20 highwaymen here in 1824.
Auchendrane castle also (Auchindraine) in South Ayrshire
sits on the banks of the River Doon
and had a famous dule tree, long ago blown down in furious gale. This tree was an ash and stood in front of the castle; described as being one of the finest trees in the district. The last Mure of Auchendrane was arrested for non-payment of a small debt and the bailiff, out of compassion, offered to settle the debt in exchange for the dule tree. The Laird of Auchendrane replied that he would rather rot to death in the worst dungeon than sell the Dule-tree of Auchendrane.
Hunterston castle near West Kilbride
had a dule known as the 'Hanging tree' or 'Resting tree'. It was an ash and stood near to the gardens on the line of the old road between Fairlie
and West Kilbride. An oak tree was planted to replace it. A legend of a beautiful lady fairy is also associated with this dule tree!
Newark Castle near the River Doon in South Ayrshire (old Carrick) had a dule-tree near its grand stair. It was an ash measuring about 15 feet circumference and it had five principal branches.
Evelix Farmhouse regality
Court-House and Gallows-Tree in the parish of Dornoch
. According to the farmer at Evelix the Gallows Tree stood until recently in a niche in a wall nearby.
The Victoria Bridge, Crathie and Braemar
in Aberdeenshire has an old Scots pine tree that stands on the south side of the road leading to Mar Lodge, and to the west of the Bridge. This was traditionally the gallows tree for the barony.
Tushielaw Tower gallows Tree, parish of Ettrick
in the Scottish borders. The tree was an ash tree in the ruins of Tushielaw Tower on which Adam Scott, the 'King of the Thieves', was hanged on the orders of James V.
Lynstock near Abernethy, Perth and Kinross. An ancient fir still stood in the 20th-century when it was thought to be over 300 years old. At a height of 12 feet from the ground it had a strong projecting bough, and it is said that it was from it that the noose cord or wuddie was hung. There were marks of graves at the foot of the tree, tradition says of two brothers, as stated by the Rev. Mr Grant, and therefore the tree is sometimes called "The Tree of the Brothers."
The Gallowshill across the main road from Rossdhu House, home of the Chiefs of the Clan Colquhoun
, marks the site of their "dule-tree."
near Chapeltoun
. It is known that a gallows was situated here; however, it cannot be proved that a dule tree was involved. Law Mount is a common name for small earth mounds, frequently in prominent positions, such as the example near Lambroughton
, Stewarton in North Ayrshire. Public hangings took place on these 'Laws' or 'Moot Hills', some of which are or were wooded. Gallows-Knowe in Kilmarnock
, East Ayrshire
was the site of the gallows for the baronial court of the Boyds of Dean Castle
. Gallow Law is a hill overlooking Newmilns in East Ayrshire.
Ghosts are frequently associated with Dule Trees which were used both as gallows
and gibbet
s, such as at Gallow's Hill in Hertfordshire
which has manifestations such as groaning timber, clanking chains and a man in grey.
features a "Justice Tree" at the Castle of Ellangowan. The corpses of murderers were gibbeted and eventually buried at crossroads so that their spirits would be "bound" there. The living took pains to prevent the dead from wandering the land as lost souls – or even as animated corpses, for the belief in revenants was widespread in mediæval Europe.
Weir of Hermiston
, an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
, makes reference to a dule-tree.
A Scottish ballad, "The Wronged Mason," tells of one Lambert Lamkin who is hanged on the dule-tree of Balwearie Castle in Fife.
"The Dule Tree" was published in 2004 by Finavon Print in association with the Elphinstone Institute, to mark the end of Sheena Blackhall
's residency as Creative Writer in Scots at the University of Aberdeen.
The Black Douglas (1899) by S. R. Crockett (1859–1914) has the line and let that wight remember that the Douglas does not keep a dule tree up there by the Gallows Slock for nothing.
Girvan
was the site of the "Hairy Tree." According to legend, the Hairy Tree was planted by Sawney Bean's eldest daughter in the town's Dalrymple Street. The daughter was implicated with the rest of the family in their incestuous and cannibalistic activities and was hanged by locals from the bough of the tree she herself planted. According to local legend, one can hear the sound of a swinging corpse while standing beneath its boughs.
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
for public hangings. They were also used as gibbet
Gibbet
A gibbet is a gallows-type structure from which the dead bodies of executed criminals were hung on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. In earlier times, up to the late 17th century, live gibbeting also took place, in which the criminal was placed alive in a metal cage...
s for the display of the corpse for a considerable period of time after such hangings. These "Trees of Lamentation or Grief" were usually growing in prominent positions or at busy thoroughfares, particularly at crossroads, so that justice could be seen to have been done and as a salutary warning to others.
Origins of the name
In ScotsScots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
, Dule or Duill, also dole, dowle; dwle, dul, dull, duyl, duile, doile, doill, dewle, deull, and duel. In Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
, dule, duyl, dulle, deul, dewle and variants of doole, dole, and dool. All these words mean sorrow, grief, or mental distress.
History
The 'furca and fossa', or the 'pit and gallows', refers to the 'high justice' including the capital penalty. The furca was a device for hanging slaves in ancient Rome and refers to the gallows for hanging men; the fossa was a ditch filled with water for the drowning of women. With the introduction to Scotland of the feudal system in the 12th-century, pre-feudal, or Celtic tenures, were transformed into holding from the Crown and a number of these were held directly or in chief of the Crown and were held in liberam baroniam, in free barony, with high justice (i.e., with pit and gallows). In Scotland trees were often used as gallows. These Dule Trees were also known as the 'Grief Tree', the 'Gallows Tree', the 'Justice Tree' or simply 'The Tree'. It is said that King Malcolm Canmore legislated in 1057 that every barony was to have a tree for hanging convicted men and a pit of water for the execution of convicted women.These Baronies belonged to the same order as Earls and these Earls and Barons together formed the Order of the Three 'Estaits' of the Scots Parliament known as The Baronage of Scotland. The Barons sat in the Scots Parliament until 1587, when they were relieved from attendance, which was burdensome and costly. The right of pit and gallows was removed in 1747 by the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746
Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746
The Heritable Jurisdictions Act 1746 was an Act of the British Parliament passed in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745....
, lesser powers continued to the twentieth century.
Dule trees were also used by Highland Chieftains, who would hang their enemies or any deserter, murderer, etc. from the Dool Tree. Highland clan chiefs also therefore had the power of 'life or death' over their clansmen in times gone by. The high ground on which these trees grew often became known as 'Gallows Hill'.
It is not clear whether the Moot
Moot hill
A moot hill or mons placiti is a hill or mound historically used as an assembly or meeting place. In early medieval Britain, such hills were used for "moots", meetings of local people to settle local business. Among other things, proclamations might be read; decisions might be taken; court cases...
or Justice Hills were also the site of the gallows. Some of the place names suggest that they could have been and many were certainly in a prominent position for the display of a corpse to warn others of the consequences of wrongdoing.
Medieval Song
(sung in the round)
The hill of lamentation
Paterson is taken by the idea that dule-trees were places where a clan met to bewail any misfortune that befell the community. He cites an example where the friends and adherents of David, first Earl of Cassilis, met at the Cassilis dule-tree to lament, for several days, his loss at the disastrous Battle of Flodden in 1513. Lawson also gives these details and states that the retainers used to assemble under the tree to make lamentation upon the death of their chief, implying it was an old custom and not a 'one off.'Surviving examples
These trees were often close to the residence of the lord or clan chief and one of the best known Dule Trees, or 'Hanging Trees', stands within the grounds of Leith HallLeith Hall
Leith Hall is a country house in Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Built in 1650, on the site of the medieval Peill Castle, and run by the National Trust of Scotland since 1945, Leith Hall is set in a estate with scenic gardens. The manor was the home of the Leith-Hay family for nearly four...
, near Huntly, Aberdeenshire
Huntly, Aberdeenshire
Huntly is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It has a population 4,460 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle...
. This tree, a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), was used as a natural gibbet and a means for publicly carrying out feudal justice. The strong timber, not prone to snapping, of sycamore made this a favoured species for this purpose. Incidentally, sycamores used to be known as 'plane' trees in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Leith Hall dates from about 1650 and the tree was possibly planted shortly after this. A rather gaunt and heavily branched tree, the trunk measures 116 cm in diameter.
At Cessnock Castle near Galston, East Ayrshire
Galston, East Ayrshire
Galston is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland which has a population of 5000 . It is situated in wooded countryside 4 miles up-river from Kilmarnock and is one a group of the small towns located in the Irvine Valley between the towns of Hurlford and Newmilns. Galston is located in the Loudoun area...
is a dule tree, a gnarled specimen of Castanea sativa - sweet chestnut
Sweet Chestnut
Castanea sativa is a species of the flowering plant family Fagaceae, the tree and its edible seeds are referred to by several common names such Sweet Chestnut or Marron. Originally native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, it is now widely dispersed throughout Europe and parts of Asia, such as...
.
An old beech tree is still known as a 'Gallows Tree' and grows in an exposed position near Monikie
Monikie
Monikie is a village in Angus, Scotland, north-east of Dundee, and which takes its name from the civil parish of Monikie.-History:The village grew from small beginnings as just one of many hamlets. The other large village in the parish is Newbigging...
in Angus.
The Dule tree at Cassillis Castle in South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....
was blown down in a great storm during the winter of 1939-40 and when the rings on its trunk were counted, it was found to be about 200 years old. A new Dule tree, grown from a cutting taken from the old one, a plane tree or sycamore maple
Sycamore Maple
Acer pseudoplatanus, the sycamore maple, is a species of maple native to central Europe and southwestern Asia, from France east to Ukraine, and south in mountains to northern Spain, northern Turkey, and the Caucasus. It is not related to other trees called sycamore or plane tree in the Platanus...
now stands on the original site. John or Johnny Faa, King of the Gypsies
King of the Gypsies
The title King of the Gypsies has been claimed or given over the centuries to many different people. It is both culturally and geographically specific. It may be inherited, acquired by acclamation or action, or simply claimed. The extent of the power associated with the title varied; it might be...
is said to have been hanged from the Cassillis Dule Tree, together with some of his supporters. On the Water of Minnoch is a deep pool known as the 'Murder Hole' in which a family from Rowantree dumped their victims; they were caught, confessed and were the last to be hanged on the dule tree.
Kilkerran house in South Ayrshire has a dule tree in its grounds.
The ancient sycamore that stands in the shadow of Blairquhan Castle
Blairquhan Castle
Blairquhan is a Regency-era castle near Maybole in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the historic home of the Hunter-Blair Baronets and remains in the family's possession...
, near Straiton
Straiton
Straiton is a village on the River Girvan in South Ayrshire in Scotland, mainly built in the 18th century, but with some recent housing.It was the main location for the film The Match, where two rival pubs played an annual football match as a challenge...
, South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....
is thought to be Dule Tree, planted early in the 16th century during the reign of King James V of Scotland. The moss-covered trunk has a girth of 5.6 metres (18 feet 4 inches), and is completely hollow, with only a very thin outer shell of sound wood supporting the tree. The once spreading crown was heavily pruned in 1997 in an effort to preserve the fragile shell and prevent the much-weakened trunk from total collapse. Vigorous new growth is now establishing a new, smaller crown.
Near the village of Logierait
Logierait
Logierait is a village and parish in Atholl, Scotland. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Tay and Tummel, west of the A9 road in Perth and Kinross....
in Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
is the hollow ` Ash Tree of the Boat of Logierait, ' which, 63 feet in height and 40 in girth at 3 feet from the ground, is said to have been ` the dool tree of the district, on which caitiffs and robbers were formerly executed, and their bodies left hanging till they dropped and lay around unburied. '
An example may still exist at Bargany in South Ayrshire where a European Ash
European Ash
Fraxinus excelsior , is a species of Fraxinus native to most of Europe with the exception of northern Scandinavia and southern Iberia, and also southwestern Asia from northern Turkey east to the Caucasus and Alborz mountains...
(Fraxinus excelsior), served the role of the baronial dule tree.
An example is said to survive at Douglas Castle, located around 1 km north-east of the village of Douglas, South Lanarkshire
Douglas, South Lanarkshire
Douglas is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on the south bank of the Douglas Water and on the A70 road that links Ayr, on the West coast of Scotland, to Edinburgh on the East, around 12 miles south west of Lanark. The placename is of Gaelic origin, derived from the Old Gaelic...
aka Castle Dangerous
Castle Dangerous
Castle Dangerous was Walter Scott's last novel. It is part of Tales of My Landlord, 4th series.-Plot introduction:The story is set in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire around 1306, shortly after the death of William Wallace during the Wars of Scottish Independence...
of Sir Walter Scott's novel of that name.
Smith records in 1895 that the stump of the Dule tree at Newark Castle
Newark Castle, Port Glasgow
Newark Castle is a well-preserved castle sited on the south shore of the estuary of the River Clyde in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland, where the firth gradually narrows from the Firth of Clyde and navigation upriver is made difficult by shifting sandbanks...
was carefully preserved.
Hangman's Elm
Hangman's Elm
Hangman's Elm, or simply "The Hanging Tree", is an English Elm located at the Northwest corner in Washington Square Park, in the New York City borough of Manhattan...
, or simply "The Hanging Tree", is an English Elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
located in New York City, over 300 years old. Traitors are said to have been hanged at this location during the American Revolutionary War. Later, the Marquis de Lafayette is said to have witnessed the 'festive' hanging of 20 highwaymen here in 1824.
Previous sites of old Dule Trees
In the 1830s a gallows-tree still stood in the Edinburgh grass-market, surrounded by the actual scaffold with a ladder leaning against the structure for the ascent.Auchendrane castle also (Auchindraine) in South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....
sits on the banks of the River Doon
River Doon
The River Doon is a river in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The river flows 23 miles from Loch Doon, joining the Firth of Clyde just south of Ayr. Its course is generally north-westerly, passing near to the town of Dalmellington, and through the villages of Patna, Dalrymple, and Alloway, birthplace...
and had a famous dule tree, long ago blown down in furious gale. This tree was an ash and stood in front of the castle; described as being one of the finest trees in the district. The last Mure of Auchendrane was arrested for non-payment of a small debt and the bailiff, out of compassion, offered to settle the debt in exchange for the dule tree. The Laird of Auchendrane replied that he would rather rot to death in the worst dungeon than sell the Dule-tree of Auchendrane.
Hunterston castle near West Kilbride
West Kilbride
West Kilbride is a village in North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland by the Firth of Clyde, looking across the water to Goat Fell and the Isle of Arran...
had a dule known as the 'Hanging tree' or 'Resting tree'. It was an ash and stood near to the gardens on the line of the old road between Fairlie
Fairlie
A Fairlie is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended or single ended...
and West Kilbride. An oak tree was planted to replace it. A legend of a beautiful lady fairy is also associated with this dule tree!
Newark Castle near the River Doon in South Ayrshire (old Carrick) had a dule-tree near its grand stair. It was an ash measuring about 15 feet circumference and it had five principal branches.
Evelix Farmhouse regality
Regality
A regality was a territorial jurisdiction in old Scots law which might be created by the King only, by granting lands to a subject in liberam regalitatem, and also the tract of land over which such a right extended....
Court-House and Gallows-Tree in the parish of Dornoch
Dornoch
Dornoch is a town and seaside resort, and former Royal burgh in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east...
. According to the farmer at Evelix the Gallows Tree stood until recently in a niche in a wall nearby.
The Victoria Bridge, Crathie and Braemar
Braemar
Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an altitude of ....
in Aberdeenshire has an old Scots pine tree that stands on the south side of the road leading to Mar Lodge, and to the west of the Bridge. This was traditionally the gallows tree for the barony.
Tushielaw Tower gallows Tree, parish of Ettrick
Ettrick, Scotland
Ettrick is a small village and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, located around south-west of the town of Selkirk.-Local area:...
in the Scottish borders. The tree was an ash tree in the ruins of Tushielaw Tower on which Adam Scott, the 'King of the Thieves', was hanged on the orders of James V.
Lynstock near Abernethy, Perth and Kinross. An ancient fir still stood in the 20th-century when it was thought to be over 300 years old. At a height of 12 feet from the ground it had a strong projecting bough, and it is said that it was from it that the noose cord or wuddie was hung. There were marks of graves at the foot of the tree, tradition says of two brothers, as stated by the Rev. Mr Grant, and therefore the tree is sometimes called "The Tree of the Brothers."
The Gallowshill across the main road from Rossdhu House, home of the Chiefs of the Clan Colquhoun
Clan Colquhoun
Clan Colquhoun is a Highland Scottish clan.The clan motto shown above in the crest best translates to "if I can."-Origins of the clan:In the 13th century Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox granted the lands of Colquhoun, located in Dunbartonshire, to Humphry de Kilpatrick...
, marks the site of their "dule-tree."
Local History
Place names are often a fairly reliable source of information about past events and activities, as with names such as Gallowayford at Kennox House in North AyrshireNorth Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...
near Chapeltoun
Chapeltoun
Chapeltoun is an estate on the banks of the Annick Water in East Ayrshire, Scotland. This is a rural area famous for its milk and cheese production and the Ayrshire or Dunlop breed of cattle.-Templeton and the Knights Templar:...
. It is known that a gallows was situated here; however, it cannot be proved that a dule tree was involved. Law Mount is a common name for small earth mounds, frequently in prominent positions, such as the example near Lambroughton
Lambroughton
Lambroughton is a village in the old Barony of Kilmaurs, North Ayrshire, Scotland. This is a rural area famous for its milk and cheese production and the Ayrshire or Dunlop breed of cattle.-Origins of the name:...
, Stewarton in North Ayrshire. Public hangings took place on these 'Laws' or 'Moot Hills', some of which are or were wooded. Gallows-Knowe in Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
, East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...
was the site of the gallows for the baronial court of the Boyds of Dean Castle
Dean Castle
Dean Castle is situated in the Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the stronghold for the Boyd Family, who were lords of Kilmarnock for over 400 years....
. Gallow Law is a hill overlooking Newmilns in East Ayrshire.
Ghosts are frequently associated with Dule Trees which were used both as gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
and gibbet
Gibbet
A gibbet is a gallows-type structure from which the dead bodies of executed criminals were hung on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. In earlier times, up to the late 17th century, live gibbeting also took place, in which the criminal was placed alive in a metal cage...
s, such as at Gallow's Hill in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
which has manifestations such as groaning timber, clanking chains and a man in grey.
Dule trees in literature
Sir Walter Scott's Waverley novel Guy ManneringGuy Mannering
Guy Mannering or The Astrologer is a novel by Sir Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815. According to an introduction that Scott wrote in 1829, he had originally intended to write a story of the supernatural, but changed his mind soon after starting...
features a "Justice Tree" at the Castle of Ellangowan. The corpses of murderers were gibbeted and eventually buried at crossroads so that their spirits would be "bound" there. The living took pains to prevent the dead from wandering the land as lost souls – or even as animated corpses, for the belief in revenants was widespread in mediæval Europe.
Weir of Hermiston
Weir of Hermiston
Weir of Hermiston is an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Many have considered it his masterpiece. It was cut short by Stevenson's sudden death from a cerebral hemorrhage. The novel is set in Edinburgh and the Lothians at the time of the Napoleonic Wars.-Plot summary:The novel tells the...
, an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
, makes reference to a dule-tree.
A Scottish ballad, "The Wronged Mason," tells of one Lambert Lamkin who is hanged on the dule-tree of Balwearie Castle in Fife.
"The Dule Tree" was published in 2004 by Finavon Print in association with the Elphinstone Institute, to mark the end of Sheena Blackhall
Sheena Blackhall
Sheena Blackhall is a poet, novelist, short story writer, illustrator, traditional story teller and singer.Author of 76 poetry pamphlets, 12 short story collections, 4 novels and 2 televised plays for children, The Nicht Bus and The Broken Hert...
's residency as Creative Writer in Scots at the University of Aberdeen.
The Black Douglas (1899) by S. R. Crockett (1859–1914) has the line and let that wight remember that the Douglas does not keep a dule tree up there by the Gallows Slock for nothing.
Girvan
Girvan
Girvan is a burgh in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of about 8000 people. Originally a fishing port, it is now also a seaside resort with beaches and cliffs. Girvan dates back to 1668 when is became a municipal burgh incorporated by by charter...
was the site of the "Hairy Tree." According to legend, the Hairy Tree was planted by Sawney Bean's eldest daughter in the town's Dalrymple Street. The daughter was implicated with the rest of the family in their incestuous and cannibalistic activities and was hanged by locals from the bough of the tree she herself planted. According to local legend, one can hear the sound of a swinging corpse while standing beneath its boughs.