The Ancient Codex Knock on the door of the past

Fortified place · Medieval · Falkirk

Blackness Castle

Photo: pudina / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0

One of Scotland's great artillery fortresses, Blackness served for centuries as a royal state prison and garrison guarding the Firth of Forth.

Blackness Castle stands on a rocky promontory reaching into the Firth of Forth, its long, narrow outline earning the enduring nickname ‘the ship that never sailed’. Sir George Crichton, Lord High Admiral of Scotland, raised the fortress in the 1440s, probably over an earlier stronghold, to serve both as his residence and as a state prison. It guarded the port that served nearby Linlithgow, one of the principal royal residences of the Scottish crown. After Crichton was dispossessed, the castle passed to James II in 1453, and in the 1530s Sir James Hamilton of Finnart strengthened it with defences suited to the age of gunpowder. Its three towers were named for a vessel: the north tower the stem, the south the stern, and the massive central tower the main mast, its walls more than two metres thick. Over the centuries it held prominent prisoners, surrendered to Cromwell’s forces in 1650, later served as a prison for French prisoners of war, and became Scotland’s central ammunition store in the Victorian era. Now cared for by Historic Environment Scotland and open to visitors, the castle has also appeared on screen, standing in for Fort William in the Outlander series.

What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.

In culture

  • Used as Fort William in Outlander.

What to look for

  • The central tower, the 'main mast', with walls over two metres thick, once used to confine high-status prisoners such as Cardinal Beaton

  • The 16th-century artillery defences added by Sir James Hamilton of Finnart to withstand gunpowder weapons

  • The elongated, ship-like plan on its rocky spit that earned the castle its 'ship that never sailed' nickname

  • The north and south towers, named the stem and stern in keeping with the vessel theme

  • Its commanding position over the Firth of Forth, guarding the old port that served royal Linlithgow

Plan your visit

Location
General area near Falkirk, Falkirk

This is a sensitive or fragile site, so we show only its general area. Please check official heritage sources for access before visiting, and take care not to disturb it.

Nearby places

Building or ruin · Medieval

Linlithgow Palace

West Lothian

It was one of the principal residences of Scotland's Stewart monarchs and the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots.

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