„Blackness Castle Stern“

The south face of Blackness Castle, situated on the banks of the River Forth in Blackness village, near Linlithgow, Scotland.

The castle came into royal hands in 1453 when the surrounding lands were annexed by King James II. It spent much of the next century serving as a royal prison housing the more prestigious of the King’s various enemies.

When seen from above, the castle looks almost like a ship pointing out into the River Forth and is often referred to as the ship that never sailed, so this view would be of the Stern. The Gatehouse entrance to the castle is on the left.

The castle has served a number of functions since being built in the 15th Century. It has been a defensive castle for the port and town of Blackness, at various times it has served as a state prison, holding such prisoners as Cardinal Beaton, and the 6th Earl of Angus and much later it was used to hold French Prisoners during the wars of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

From 1870 to 1912, it became the army’s central ammunition depot in Scotland. It was at this time that several more buildings were built around the grassy courtyard to the south of the castle used to house the officers and men in separate buildings.

The castle was briefly reused by the army during the First World War. It is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, in the care of Historic Scotland.