Defences of the Forth – from pre-Roman times to 19th Century

In February 2011 the buildings historian Geoffrey Stell gave a talk to NQHT on “Defending the Forth 1914 – 1945.”

This gave a short introduction to old castles, forts and dockyards, before moving on to the perhaps more familiar territory of the gun batteries, anti-submarine nets and airfields etc. of the 20th century.

In 2018, I researched and posted lots of material related to the 20th century defences of the Forth, WWI especially naval warfare, the impact on North Queensferry and the Surrender of the German High Seas Fleet in 1918.

In 2020, I decided to wind the clock back, and have a look at the earlier history of defences “around the Firth of Forth”, and was surprised to discover almost 30 castles along the shores, plus several forts and fortifications, along with the two royal dockyards that Geoffrey had introduced.

A few of these sites are right on our doorstep in North Queensferry, others can be seen from the village, and none of them are very far away and they have all in some way contributed to our local heritage.

The list of castles included Dunbar, which turned out to have been a defensive stronghold since pre-Roman times (along with the sites of Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle.)

So the historical background stretches back over 2,000 years to pre-Roman Iron Age fortifications. These provided protection for individual families or local communities, long before the emergence of a Scottish Nation.

So here is some 2000+ years of Scottish History, explaining how these sites emerged, how some were destroyed and how others survived to become incorporated into the integrated national defence networks of the 20th century.

I included a few linking chapters to avoid having big gaps in the chronology when there was no local activity.

1 – Hillforts and fortified settlements
2 – The Roman Occupation 43 to 410 AD
3 – Return of the Hillforts ~ 400 AD
4 – Anglo-Saxon and Viking Invaders 400 AD to 900 AD
5 – The emergence of a Scottish Nation 840 to 1100 AD
6 – Norman Influence 1066 to 1250
7 – Succession crisis and the Wars of Independence 1286 to 1328
8 – Peace is restored 1329 – 1370
9 – The House of Stewart 1370 – 1488
10 – King James IV and the beginning of national defences 1488 – 1510
11 – Disaster at Flodden 1509 – 1542
12 – The Rough Wooing 1543 to 1551
13 – Dynastic convolutions and convulsions 1553 to 1650
14 – Cromwell invades Scotland 1650 – 1690
15 – Jacobite Rebellions 1689 – 1745
16 – American Independence 1770 – 1800
17 – French Revolution 1800 – 1900

In November 2021, Ron Morris and Gordon Barclay published this paper

The fixed defences of the Forth in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1779–1815 which expands on many of the sites.