In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Soutra like this:
Soutra, an ancient parish on the SW border of Haddingtonshire, annexed since 1589 to the contiguous parish of Fala in Edinburghshire. The hospital and church of ` Soltre ' stood near the top of Soutra Hill (1209 feet), 5¾ miles SE of Pathhead, 6 E by S of Tynehead station (only 3 5/8 as the crow flies), and 16¾ SE of Edinburgh. ...
The hospital was founded by Malcolm IV., in or a little before 1164, for pilgrims, travellers, and poor folk, and was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Mary of Gueldres annexed its lands to Trinity College, Edinburgh, in 1462; and after the Reformation its church ceased to be maintained as a distinct parochial charge, and the buildings fell into ruin. About 1850 every vestige of wall and foundations was dug up and carted away for building dykes and farm steadings, with the exception of a small aisle, which in 1686 had been appropriated as a burial vault by the Pringles of Beatman's Acre. Soutra Hill is the most westerly ridge of the Lammermuirs, and commands a gorgeous view, over the Lothians and the Firth of Forth, to the hills of Fife.—Ord. Sur., sh. 33, 1863. See David Laing's Registrum Domus de Soltre (Bannatyne Club, 1861).
Soutra through time
Soutra is now part of Midlothian district. Click here for graphs and data of how Midlothian has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Soutra itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Soutra, in Midlothian and East Lothian | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21631
Date accessed: 26th April 2024
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