of the killing of Lord Soulis. He is said to have been killed here in 1444 after leading a band of English mercenaries into the Kilmarnock area and then subsequently suffering a rout at the hands of the Boyd's of Dean Castle. Dean Castle at one time belonged to the De Soulis family. A memorial stone, dating from at least 1609, to Lord Soulis is to be found set into a wall at the High Church, by the railway viaduct. A brass plaque with details of the De Soulis coat of arms used to be set into the road near this spot. The Soulis Cross was in Soulis Street, but is now housed in the Dick Institute. A notorious Lord Soulis is linked with the evil redcaps at Hermitage Castle in the Borders. He could only be bound by a three-stranded rope of sand, but they got over the problem of hanging him by binding him in a lead sheet and boiling himn to death for the murder of the Laird of Branxholm. Robertson points out that the coat of arms of the De Soulis & De Morville families is identical and they may therefore have been related. The De Soulis family lost their lands due to their involvement in 'The Soulis Plot' to depose Robert the Bruce. The family were unsuccessful claimants to the throne of Scotland. A final role of the mound was in the holding of a 'court' at Knockenlaw by the Earl of Glencairn when he was attempting to claim the Lordship of Kilmarnock from the Boyd's. In the event the supporters of the Boyd's turned up in force and the Earl had to abandon his attempt. The Roman Well, said to be of great antiquity was located nearby. These sites are now hidden beneath housing estates. Micro history, traditions and archaeology In 1780 Kilmarnock Council paid Robert Fraser 2s. 6d. for "dressing a Maypole", one of the last recorded examples of the rural festival of the first of May in Scotland, having been put down by Act of Parliament immediately after the Reformation. McNaught records that John Armour was a resident clockmaker in 1726, with Kilmaurs clocks regarded as having brass dials of the highest standard. He had one arm shorter than the other and was called 'Clockie' for this reason. Both Beattie and the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers refer to the iron bridge over the