Blackness, Falkirk

Blackness
Scottish Gaelic: An Dubh-Nis

A view of houses in the village of Blackness
Banknock is in the west of the Falkirk council area in the Central Belt of the Scottish mainland.
Blackness
 Blackness shown within the Falkirk council area
Population 135 [1] (2001 census)
OS grid referenceNT051800
   – Edinburgh  13.4 mi (21.6 km) SE 
   – London  341 mi (549 km) SSE 
Civil parishBo'ness and Carriden
Council areaFalkirk
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LINLITHGOW
Postcode district EH49
Dialling code 01506
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentLinlithgow and
East Falkirk
Scottish ParliamentFalkirk East
Websitefalkirk.gov.uk
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 56°00′13″N 3°31′19″W / 56.003651°N 3.522010°W

Blackness is a small village and harbour at Blackness Bay, an inlet of the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It lies 3.4 miles (5.5 km) east-southeast of Bo'ness, 5.0 miles (8.0 km) west-northwest of South Queensferry and 3.8 miles (6.1 km) north-east of Linlithgow, within the council area of Falkirk.

At the 2001 Census Blackness was reported as having a population of around 135 residents.[1]

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. As a port, Blackness was later superseded by Bo'ness, and fell into decline from the 17th century. Blackness Yacht Club currently use the village as a base for its sailing activities.

Blackness Castle

The small village is dominated by Blackness Castle, situated on a promontory overlooking the bay. The castle was both a residence and a prison before passing to Crown ownership in 1453. The castle is currently under the care of Historic Scotland and has been used as a setting for several films including Hamlet,[2] and the BBC production of Ivanhoe.[3] In addition to the castle and the boat club, the village contains a small variety shop and a pub restaurant. The old smithy has long since shut its doors, as has the dairy which once operated from the village.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 No 3 - 2001 Census Population of settlements and wards, www.falkirk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2011-05-17
  2. ↑ Scotland: the Movie Location Guide - Hamlet - Blackness Castle, www.scotlandthemovie.com.
  3. ↑ Visit Scotland - Blackness Castle, guide.visitscotland.com.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blackness, Falkirk.