Culross

Summary

A Category A listed Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, preserving one of the most complete early modern Scottish townscapes in existence, with Culross Palace (c.1597 to 1611), the Town House (1626), and numerous 16th and 17th century merchant houses managed by the National Trust for Scotland; used as a filming location for Kidnapped (1971), The 39 Steps (2008), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and Outlander (Starz, 2014 onwards).

About this location

Culross (pronounced “Coo-ros”) stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth in Fife, Scotland, approximately seven miles west of Dunfermline. The town prospered in the 16th and early 17th centuries through coal mining and salt production, both industries developed by Sir George Bruce of Carnock, whose success allowed him to build Culross Palace between around 1597 and 1611. The palace is not a royal residence but takes its name from its scale and grandeur; it is one of the best-preserved examples of a prosperous Scottish merchant’s townhouse from the early modern period.

Culross Palace was constructed using materials acquired through Bruce’s foreign trade — Baltic pine for timbers, red pantiles, Dutch floor tiles and glass were all imported. The exterior uses crow-stepped gables in the Scottish Renaissance manner, and the interiors contain original decorative ceiling and mural paintings from the early 17th century, along with 17th and 18th-century furniture and a collection of Staffordshire and Scottish pottery. “Witch marks” — apotropaic symbols carved into stonework above fireplaces — survive in several rooms, thought to guard against witches descending the chimney. The Culross Town House, built in 1626, stands in the market place and served as the burgh’s administrative centre.

The broader town of Culross retains a remarkable number of 16th and 17th century buildings along its cobbled streets, many with the characteristic crow-stepped gables and pantile roofs of Scottish vernacular architecture of the period. This concentration of surviving historic buildings makes the town uniquely suitable for period film and television production that requires an early modern street environment.

The National Trust for Scotland manages Culross Palace, the Town House, and many of the surrounding historic properties, and the organisation has actively supported film and television production in the town.

Productions filmed at Culross include: Kidnapped (Disney/Anglo-EMI, 1971, directed by Delbert Mann, starring Michael Caine as Alan Breck Stewart and Lawrence Douglas as David Balfour, adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel — the town stands in for 18th-century Edinburgh and Scottish Highlands settlements); The 39 Steps (ITV Productions/Granada, 2008, directed by James Hawes, starring Rupert Penry-Jones as Richard Hannay, adapted from John Buchan’s novel); Captain America: The First Avenger (Marvel Studios/Paramount, 2011, directed by Joe Johnston, starring Chris Evans — the town provided World War II-era street dressing); Outlander (Starz, 2014 onwards, produced by Sony Pictures Television, based on Diana Gabaldon’s novels, starring Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser — Culross represents the fictional village of Cranesmuir and has been used throughout the series).