Likened to a
ship from its shape and location, Blackness has been a place of defence from when it was
built in the 1440s until after World War I. Originally built by the Crichtons, it was
gifted to the Crown in 1453 and used as a State Prison until 1707; as a Garrison until
1870 and then as an ammunition depot until 1912, when it was placed into care.
The castle strengthened in the
16th century as an artillery fortress and was besieged by Cromwell in 1650. One of the
many folk imprisoned here, the list includes Cardinal Beaton, Lord Ochiltree, John Welsh
and Adam Blackadder, who complained that the dungeon was ‘full of puddocks and
toads’.
The outer courtyard at
Blackness contains a barracks and officers’ quarters. Th castle proper has a Stern,
or south Tower, Central Tower and North Tower that contains a prison and pit. The Central
Tower is a four-storey block with turnpike at the corner, the lowest floor having a great
boss of rock in it. Extensive views are obtained from the parapet.
The South Tower has many
vaulted rooms and replica windows, the great hall having window seats, minstrel’s
gallery and adjoining kitchen. The courtyard wall has a parapet walk which can be airy
above the crashing waves of the Firth of Forth. |
