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Blackness Castle is a fifteenth-century fortress situated on a promontory projecting into the Firth of Forth in West Lothian, Scotland. Built initially by Sir George Crichton around 1440, the castle was subsequently developed and strengthened, particularly during the sixteenth century when it served as a royal artillery fortress and state prison. The structure is characterised by its distinctive triangular plan, with corner bastions designed to mount and defend against cannon fire, reflecting the military engineering priorities of the late medieval and early modern periods. The castle remained in active use as a garrison and prison into the seventeenth century and has been maintained as a scheduled monument of considerable historical and architectural importance.
Blackness Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90036. View the official record →
Blackness Castle is a fifteenth-century fortress situated on a promontory projecting into the Firth of Forth in West Lothian, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90036.
Blackness Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM90036.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Abercorn,fort 450m SW of West Lodge (2.8 km), Auldcathie Church (4.8 km), Duntarvie Castle (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Blackness Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Blackness Castle stands on Early Carboniferous sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Early Carboniferous. The rock here is major:{sandstone}, Minor{siltstone,claystone,limestone}.