Blackness Castle

Summary

A Scheduled Ancient Monument and Category A listed curtain-wall artillery fortification on the south shore of the Firth of Forth at Blackness in the Falkirk council area, built in the mid-1440s by Sir George Crichton, substantially strengthened between 1534 and 1540 by Sir James Hamilton of Finnart with advanced artillery fortifications including a caponier; in crown ownership since 1453; used as a state prison and ammunition depot before passing to Historic Environment Scotland; used as a filming location for Hamlet (1990), Ivanhoe (BBC/A&E, 1997), Doomsday (2008), and Outlander (Starz, 2014 onwards).

About this location

Blackness Castle occupies a promontory on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately four miles east of Linlithgow in the Falkirk council area. The castle’s position controls the approaches to Blackness, which in the medieval period was the principal port serving Linlithgow, one of the main royal residences of the Scottish monarchs. The promontory gives the castle an unusual elongated plan that has prompted the traditional description of it as resembling a ship at anchor — the North Tower as the bow, the Central Tower as the main mast, and the South Tower as the stern.

The castle was probably built in the mid-1440s by Sir George Crichton, Lord High Admiral of Scotland and later Earl of Caithness, during a period of feuding between the Crichton and Douglas families. In 1453 it passed to James II of Scotland and has been crown property ever since. In the 1530s, the King’s Master of Works, Sir James Hamilton of Finnart — an expert in contemporary artillery fortification who had studied European examples — directed a major strengthening programme between 1534 and 1540. Finnart introduced a caponier at the entrance, one of only three surviving in Scotland, allowing defenders to fire along the outer face of the gate. He thickened the curtain walls on the south and east from 1.5 metres to over 5 metres in places, and opened new gun ports throughout.

The castle served as a state prison for several centuries. Cardinal Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, were among the high-status prisoners held in the Central Tower. The Central Tower, built in the 15th century and heightened in the 16th, rises five storeys with walls 2.3 metres thick at the base. The South Tower, or Stern Tower, contains the principal accommodation and dates largely from the 16th century, incorporating earlier 15th-century curtain wall battlements.

Oliver Cromwell’s army besieged and captured the castle in 1650. Following repair, Blackness continued as a prison and minor garrison. After the 1707 Union it was one of four Scottish fortresses maintained and garrisoned by the British Army, alongside Stirling, Dumton, and Edinburgh. Between 1870 and 1912 it served as the central ammunition depot for Scotland, with extensive modifications to the interior. A restoration programme between 1926 and 1935 removed the Victorian works and reinstated medieval features.

Hamlet (Nelson Entertainment/Icon, 1990, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Mel Gibson as Prince Hamlet and Glenn Close as Gertrude) used Blackness Castle as a primary exterior and interior location. Ivanhoe (BBC/A&E, 1997, directed by Stuart Orme, starring Steven Waddington in the title role and Susan Lynch as Rebecca) filmed at the castle. Doomsday (Rogue/Intrepid, 2008, directed by Neil Marshall, starring Rhona Mitra) used the castle as a location. Outlander (Starz, 2014 onwards, produced by Sony Pictures Television, based on Diana Gabaldon’s novels) uses Blackness Castle as Fort William, the garrison commanded by Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, throughout the series.