Blackness is a small village and harbour at Blackness Bay, an inlet of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It lies east-southeast of

Bo'ness Borrowstounness, commonly known as Bo'ness ( ), is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically part of the county of West Lothian (historic), ...

, west-northwest of

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is now administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. It lies ten miles to the nor ...

and north-east of

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

, within the

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Ac ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

. It was formerly part of the historic county of

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

. At the 2001 Census Blackness was reported as having a population of around 135 residents.

History

The village originally served as a port for nearby Linlithgow, which was a principal residence of the Scottish monarchs from as early as the 12th century.

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

gave the village to one of his household servants, John Kirkwood, Master of the Larder, in January 1502. As a port, Blackness was later superseded by

, and fell into decline in the late 17th century. There are two listed houses in the village. Blackness House is an early 19th century Georgian house that is Category B listed. Blackness Low Valley House is a mid-18th century house that is Category C listed. Blackness Mission Church and War Memorial

Blackness Mission Church and War Memorial

In 1875, a public water hand-pump was installed in the village and this is, along with a newer hand-pump, located against a wall opposite a block of flats in the center of the village. In 1914, the St Ninian’s Blackness Mission Church was erected in the village. On 23 December 1922, the village

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

memorial was unveiled. The memorial also records names from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The old smithy has long since shut its doors, as has the post office and the

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

which once operated from the village.

Blackness Castle

The small village is dominated by

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Falkirk, Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness ...

, situated on a promontory overlooking the bay. The castle primarily dates to the early 15th century being built by Sir George Crichton, Earl of Caithness and Admiral of Scotland. It served as a fortified residence and a prison before passing to Crown ownership under

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his fathe ...

in 1453. Additional modifications to the castle were made in the 16th and 17th centuries in response to the development of artillery. From 1870 until 1912, Blackness castle was the central munitions depot for Scotland and housed officers and men in a nearby barracks block and officers quarters. The castle is currently under the care of

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...

and open to paying visitors. The castle and surrounding area has been used as a setting for several films and tv series including ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'',Scotland: the Movie Location Guide - Hamlet - Blackness Castle
, www.scotlandthemovie.com. the

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

series '' Outlander'' and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

production of ''Ivanhoe''.Visit Scotland - Blackness Castle
, guide.visitscotland.com.

Community facilities

Blackness Yacht Club currently use the village as a base for its sailing activities. In addition to the castle and the boat club, the village contains a small variety community shop and a pub restaurant named ''The Lobsterpot'' that was the site of a former pub and adjacent to the 17th century Customs House. There is a public toilets in Blackness that is the last open public toilets in the

Falkirk council area Falkirk ( ; ; ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central r ...

. There is a primary school on the western edge of Blackness. In 2022, it was reported that the school had only 8 pupils on its rolls and Falkirk Council were considering closing the school. There is limited parking in the village for visitors which resulted in a public vote taking place in the village in 2020 to decide on public access.

References

External links

Gazetteer for ScotlandBlackness Community
{{authority control Villages in Falkirk (council area)

History

Blackness Castle

Community facilities

See also

References

External links