Blackness Castle, located on the south side of the Forth, is an impressive and well-preserved defensive structure set in a beautiful, scenic environment. It’s easy to forget that, from its inception until at least 1745, one of its primary functions was as a state prison with quite an unsavoury reputation.
Rev. James Young, in 1866, described it as a ‘prison preeminently wretched when compared with other prisons.’ In previous centuries, this reputation was well-known, and religious people often toured the castle, guided by soldiers who pointed out rooms believed to have housed famous Presbyterians.
Despite this, most people today might struggle to name any of the castle’s former captives, save perhaps Cardinal Beaton and the fictional Jamie Fraser of Outlander fame.
Here are just four lesser-known tales from the dungeons of Blackness Castle:
Sir James Kirkcaldy:
Even after her forced abdication in 1567, Mary Queen of Scots could still count on loyal subjects, including the Kirkcaldy brothers, William and James. William, captain of Edinburgh Castle, held the fortress for his Queen and was executed in 1573. In the same year, James sailed to France for funds and weapons. Upon his return to Scotland, he believed Blackness Castle to be loyal to Mary, but the keeper, Sir Alexander Stewart, had made peace with Regent Morton. Kirkcaldy managed to turn the castle to his side in Stewart’s absence, leading to Stewart’s arrest and imprisonment in his own castle.
Margaret Hartsyde:
Initially a servant to Queen Anne of Denmark, Margaret Hartsyde rose through the ranks but faced accusations of stealing jewelry and precious stones from the Queen. Sent to Blackness Castle until her trial, she claimed innocence but was declared ‘infamous’ by James VI. Margaret and her husband were sentenced to exile in Orkney, and they had to repay £400 for the stolen jewelry. John, her husband, had greater freedom, and in December 1619, both were cleared of the crime, with all mention of their trial, judgment, and Margaret being pronounced ‘infamous’ deleted from the records by royal warrant. It has been speculated that Margaret’s true crime was that she revealed some of the Queen’s secrets, which a loyal and discreet servant was obviously not meant to do.
James Stewart of Killeith, 4th Lord Ochiltree:
James Stewart, 4th Lord Ochiltree, holds the dubious honor of being Blackness Castle’s longest-serving prisoner. He was warded at Blackness in either 1631 or 1633 for slander against the Lords Hamilton, Haddington, Roxburgh, and Buccleuch, whom he had accused of treason. When this turned out to be unfounded, he was himself accused of treason and having tried to seize the crown for himself. He was sentenced to perpetuity at Blackness Castle.
Over the course of his involuntary stay at the castle, Ochiltree, who maintained his innocence, would petition the government several times for funds to support him during his warding (prisoners had to pay for their own upkeep, and he had by that point clearly exhausted his own resources). He was granted a small amount of money, which was paid out at irregular intervals, forcing the Lord to appeal to the government again and again.
Ochiltree was thus one of the few people happy to see Cromwell and his army arrive at Blackness Castle in 1651. Once the castle surrendered, Ochiltree was finally freed and appears to have turned to a career in medicine to support himself and his family. Up to this point, nothing in his background suggested an inclination towards medicine, which makes it possible that he pursued his studies while imprisoned at Blackness.
Barbara Cunningham, Lady Caldwell, and her daughter Jean:
The last two prisoners in this list stand representative of the large number of people who found themselves imprisoned at Blackness Castle for their religion. For most prisoners, warding at the castle would not have lasted too long, as they were only meant to be there until their trial could be arranged. This, however, does not seem to have applied to political or religious prisoners, who could expect to spend years within the castle walls. Such was the fate of these two ladies.
In May 1683, an anonymous report accused Lady Caldwell of having welcomed a minister into her home in Glasgow, where he was seen preaching at a small gathering. Eager to deal with any reported Presbyterians, the Privy Council ordered that both Lady Caldwell and her eldest daughter Jean should be imprisoned immediately at Blackness Castle. There the two women were kept in close confinement and rarely even allowed to go for supervised walks on the castle wall or in its courtyard.
After half a year, Miss Jean started to get sick (as did a great many of Blackness’ long-term prisoners), and her mother started to petition for her release, which was eventually granted. Lady Caldwell herself remained imprisoned at Blackness Castle for over three years and was not even allowed briefly to visit her daughter Anne when she was dying of fever.
These are just four of the stories of the prisoners of Blackness Castle, of whom over 200 have been discovered so far. Staff of Historic Scotland continue their research into this interesting chapter of the castle’s history to ensure that the prisoners’ tales won’t be forgotten.