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Castles and Historic Buildings of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland

 Castles of Scotland - Blackness Castle






Map by mapchart.net - Some rights reserved.


Location
near Blackness, Falkirk, Scotland

Description
Access is from the town of Blackness, following a narrow road that leads to a car park within the castle grounds.

Blackness Castle is located on the River Forth. It was built by the Crichton family. The castle has views to the fife coast and River Forth bridges. The castle was listed as an ancient monument in 1920s and work was undertaken to restore the castle to its former state undoing some of the recent renovations. The castle is open to the public between March and September.

History
Blackness Castle was taken over by King James II in 1453 and was used as a royal prison. The castle underwent major reconstruction under King James V between 1537 and 1543 when the castle was upgraded to a formidable artillery fortification. The defenses included 5.5m thick walls on the south facing walls with openings to allow artillery to be fired. The castle was captured by Oliver Cromwell in 1650. Between then and 1918 it was used at various times as a prison and military garrison, with the military finally moving out after the second world war.


Other Castles in the Area
  Aberdour Castle, Fife
  Airth Castle, Falkirk
  Burleigh Castle, Perth and Kinross
  Castle Campbell, Clackmannanshire
  Craigmillar Castle, Lothian
  Dundas Castle, Lothian
  Edinburgh Castle, City of Edinburgh
  Falkland Palace, Fife
  Lauriston Castle, Lothian
  Liberton Tower, Lothian
  Lochleven Castle, Perth and Kinross
  Lochore Castle, Fife
  Merchiston Castle, Lothian
  Ravenscraig Castle, Fife
  Rosyth Castle, Fife
  Tulliallan Castle, Fife
  Tullibole Castle, Perth and Kinross







Tullibole Castle
Central tower of Blackness Castle, Scotland

Photograph by Jonathan Oldenbuck. Some rights reserved.  (view image details)

Tullibole Castle
South tower of Blackness Castle, Scotland, from the central tower

Photograph by Jonathan Oldenbuck. Some rights reserved.  (view image details)

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