While you’re visiting Blackness Fortress on a pleasant, sunny day, it’s straightforward to overlook that one in all its principal features – till no less than 1745 – was as a state jail. It was one with fairly an unsavoury status at that!
The Rev. James Younger, in his Lifetime of John Welsh (1866) known as it
a jail pre-eminently wretched in comparison with different prisons, and none of them in these days was the rest than a depressing gap”.
Given this status, it’s shocking that the tales of the prisoners of Blackness Fortress should not extra well-known. Few individuals would most likely be capable of title any inmates aside from the (in)well-known Cardinal Beaton, who was warded there in 1543. Right here then are 4 of the extra unknown tales of the prisoners of Blackness.
Blackness Fortress is usually referred to as “the ship that by no means sailed”
Sir James Kirkcaldy
Sir James Kirkcaldy was a staunch supporter of Mary Queen of Scots, even after her abdication and imprisonment in England. In 1572, he was in France to retrieve funds within the type of the Queen’s Dowager funds (Mary was queen dowager of France via her first husband, Francis II) in addition to weapons and ammunition for her trigger.
Upon his return to Scotland, he sailed to Blackness Fortress. He believed it to nonetheless be loyal to Mary. Sadly, the keeper, Sir Alexander Stewart, had made peace with Regent Morton and promptly arrested Kirkcaldy. The products and funds he was carrying had been confiscated. Stewart then left for Edinburgh for a gathering with the Regent.
Whether or not with convincing arguments or bribes, Kirkcaldy took benefit of the absence of Stewart. He turned the fort again to his aspect. When he returned, Stewart all of a sudden discovered himself arrested and imprisoned in his personal fort!
In response to some variations of this story Kirkcaldy ended up being betrayed by his personal spouse, who came over him someday. When it was time for her to depart, she begged her husband to accompany her for a bit as she was afraid that Captain Lambie, the keeper of Linlithgow Palace, would attempt to get his arms on her.
Whether or not with the spouse’s assist or not, Lambie did certainly intercept the pair and had Kirkcaldy taken to Edinburgh as a prisoner. It seems that James as soon as once more managed to flee. In response to legend, a few days later his spouse was discovered strangled in her mattress…
Margaret Hartsyde
Margaret Hartsyde appeared to be a fortunate girl. Having entered the providers of Queen Anne of Denmark, spouse of James VI, she managed to rise via the ranks and acquire favour with the royal couple as soon as they moved to England. Her husband John was himself a servant to the King. After some time, they had been in a position to buy land and journey about in nice model. This disgruntled some, who accused them of exhibiting off.
These individuals had been most likely delighted when Hartsyde was in 1608 all of a sudden accused of getting stolen jewelry and valuable stones from the Queen value a number of hundred kilos. She was despatched to Blackness Fortress till her trial.
Portraits of James VI and Anne of Denmark which dangle at Edinburgh Fortress
James VI was significantly enraged on the crime in opposition to his Queen and had Margaret declared “notorious” by particular warrant. Margaret and her husband had been sentenced to exile in Orkney and to repay the royal couple £400 for the jewelry. John was later given larger freedom to journey as his guilt couldn’t be confirmed.
Finally, in December 1619, Margaret Hartsyde and her husband had been each cleared of the crime. All point out of their trial, judgment and Margaret being pronounced “notorious” was deleted from the data by royal warrant.
It has been speculated that Margaret’s true crime was that she revealed a number of the Queen’s secrets and techniques, which a loyal and discreet servant was clearly not meant to do.
James Stewart of Killeith, 4th Lord Ochiltree
James Stewart, 4th Lord Ochiltree, holds the doubtful honour of being Blackness Fortress’s longest-serving prisoner. After his conviction in 1631, Ochiltree was warded at Blackness for slander in opposition to 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 sentenced to perpetuity at Blackness Fortress.
Ochiltree maintained his innocence and petitioned the Authorities a number of occasions for funds to help him. Prisoners needed to pay for their very own repairs and he had by that time clearly exhausted his personal assets. He was granted a small sum of money which was paid at irregular intervals, prompting the Lord to attraction to the Authorities many times.
Ochiltree was thus one of many few individuals completely satisfied to see Cromwellian forces arrive at Blackness Fortress in 1651. As soon as the fort surrendered, Ochiltree was lastly freed. He seems to have turned to a profession in medication to help his household. Up so far, nothing in his background instructed an inclination in direction of medication. It’s potential that he pursued his research whereas imprisoned at Blackness.
Barbara Cunningham, Girl Caldwell and her daughter Jean
The final prisoners on this record are simply two of the big quantity of people that discovered themselves imprisoned at Blackness Fortress for his or her faith. For many prisoners, warding on the fort wouldn’t have lasted too lengthy. They had been solely meant to be there till their trial could possibly be organized. This, nevertheless, doesn’t appear to have utilized to political or spiritual prisoners. They might count on to spend years throughout the fort partitions. Such was the destiny of those two girls.
In Could 1683 an nameless report accused Girl Caldwell of getting welcomed a minister into her residence in Glasgow. There, he was seen preaching at a small gathering. Desirous to take care of any reported Presbyterians, the Privy Council ordered that each Girl Caldwell and her eldest daughter Jean must be imprisoned instantly at Blackness. The 2 ladies had been stored in shut confinement and had been solely hardly ever allowed to go for supervised walks on the fort wall or within the courtyard.
The jail tower at Blackness
After half a 12 months, Miss Jean began to get sick (as did an ideal a lot of Blackness’ long run prisoners). Her mom began to petition for her launch, which was finally granted. Girl Caldwell herself remained imprisoned at Blackness Fortress for over three years. As a widow, she was with none additional safety {that a} dwelling husband might need been in a position to present. She was not even allowed to briefly go to one other daughter, Anne, when she was dying of fever.
Intrigued by the tales of those unlucky prisoners? Plan a go to to Blackness Fortress to see the dungeons for your self. On the identical time, you possibly can uncover 12 extra forgotten tales from Scotland’s previous in our Scotland’s 12 months of Tales exhibition, Unforgettable.
