Blackness Castle (20)
This is the vaulted ground floor level of the South Tower. From its 15th century origins, when its occupants needed to protect themselves from bows and arrows, Blackness developed over time into a fortress designed to house artillery and to be protected from artillery. To that end, the south wall of this tower, which is the only wall that faces the land, is in places 16 feet thick!
Between 1534 and 1540, a programme of fortification was carried out under the direction of the King's Master of Works, Sir James Hamilton of Finnart. Finnart, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Arran (and known as the "Bastard of Arran"), was an expert in artillery fortification. Having spent time in Europe studying the subject, he designed his own castle at Craignethan in Lanarkshire as a showcase for his ideas - the reason that two of Scotland's three caponiers are here and at Craignethan.
Before this tower was built, there was probably a Hall here, built against the curtain wall, but the building as it stands now was designed to contain a kitchen and gun chambers.
Blackness Castle (20)
This is the vaulted ground floor level of the South Tower. From its 15th century origins, when its occupants needed to protect themselves from bows and arrows, Blackness developed over time into a fortress designed to house artillery and to be protected from artillery. To that end, the south wall of this tower, which is the only wall that faces the land, is in places 16 feet thick!
Between 1534 and 1540, a programme of fortification was carried out under the direction of the King's Master of Works, Sir James Hamilton of Finnart. Finnart, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Arran (and known as the "Bastard of Arran"), was an expert in artillery fortification. Having spent time in Europe studying the subject, he designed his own castle at Craignethan in Lanarkshire as a showcase for his ideas - the reason that two of Scotland's three caponiers are here and at Craignethan.
Before this tower was built, there was probably a Hall here, built against the curtain wall, but the building as it stands now was designed to contain a kitchen and gun chambers.