Everything about Royal Burgh Of St Andrews totally explained
St Andrews is a
town and former
royal burgh on the east coast of
Fife,
Scotland. It is named after
Saint Andrew the
Apostle. It has a population of about 18,000, and stands on the
North Sea coast between
Edinburgh and
Dundee. It is home to Scotland's oldest university, the
University of St Andrews.
From
mediaeval times until the
Reformation, St Andrews was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland: its
bishop being the
primus of the Scottish church. Today, its historic cathedral lies in ruins.
The town of St Andrews is known worldwide as the "home of
golf". This is in part because the
Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in
1754, exercises legislative authority over the game worldwide (except in the United States and Mexico), and also because the famous
links (acquired by the town in
1894) is the most frequent venue for
The Open Championship, the oldest of golf's four
major championships. Visitors travel to St Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked amongst the finest in the world, as well as for the sandy beaches.
The Martyrs Memorial, erected to the honour of
Patrick Hamilton,
George Wishart, and other martyrs of the
Reformation epoch, stands at the west end of the Scores on a cliff overlooking the sea.
History
A Pictish stronghold probably stood on the site of St Andrews, and tradition declares that Kenneth, the patron saint of
Kennoway, established a
Céli Dé monastery here in the 6th century. The place isn't actually attested in contemporary records until
747, when the Irish annals report the death of
Túathalán, abbot of "Cennrígmonaid" (
Old Irish for "head of the King's
monad",
monad being a broad term meaning anything from "mountain" to "pastureland"). The foundations of the little church dedicated to the Virgin were discovered on the Kirkheugh in 1860. Another
Céli Dé church of St Mary on the Rock is supposed to have stood on the Lady's Craig, now covered by the sea.
In the
12th and
13th centuries, the settlement had the name of
Kilrymont (a Normanized spelling of
Cell Rígmonaid, "the church of the King's
monad") or of
Muckross ("the promontory of the boars"). Another legend tells how
Saint Regulus or Rule (Riagail), the
bishop of Patras,
Achaea, was guided hither bearing the relics of
Saint Andrew. The
Pictish king
Angus MacFergus gave him a tract of land called the "Boar's Raik", perhaps preserved in the nearby settlement of Boarhills of the present day, and the name of the spot was changed to "St Andrews".
St Andrews is said to have become a bishopric in the 9th century, and when the Pictish and Scottish churches merged in 908, the primacy was transferred to it from
Dunkeld,
its bishop becoming thereafter known as "bishop" or "high bishop of Scotland" (
ardepiscop Alban). It became an archbishopric during the primacy of Patrick Graham (1466 - 1478). The town was created a
royal burgh in
1124.
In the
16th century St Andrews functioned as one of the most important ports north of the
Forth and allegedly had 14,000 inhabitants, but it fell into decay after the violent
Scottish Reformation and the
English Civil War.
Daniel Defoe says that when he saw it one-sixth of its houses were ruinous and the sea had so encroached on the harbour that it was never likely to be restored; but the slight improvement in trade and public spirit which
Bishop Pococke seemed to detect in 1760 continued throughout the
19th century.
Still, by the late-19th century the town was dilapidated. The masters at the
university complained of the conditions and contemplated moving either to
Perth or to
Dumfries. In the
1960s the town was revitalised by growth in the
university and the growing popularity of
golf.
Weather and Climate
St Andrews has a
temperate maritime climate, which is relatively mild despite its northerly
latitude. Winters are not as cold as one might expect, considering that
Moscow and
Labrador in
Newfoundland lie on the same latitude. Daytime temperatures rarely fall below freezing and average around 5 °C. Night-time frosts are not uncommon, however snowfall is increasingly rare. The lowest winter temperature recorded in St Andrews is -14 °C, but this is exceptional. Summer temperatures are normally moderate, with daily upper maxima rarely exceeding 25 °C.
Being on the east coast of Scotland, it's often subject to the fog, or “haar” which rolls off the North Sea and can linger for several days at a time.
Buildings
Cathedral
The ruins of the Cathedral of St Andrew, at one time
Scotland's largest building, originated in the priory of Canons Regular founded by Bishop Robert (1122 - 1159). It wasn't completed and consecrated until
1318 in the reign of
Robert the Bruce (1306-29). The Cathedral and its associated conventual buildings were sacked and gradually became ruinous after the
Reformation in
1559 as stone from the cathedral was used for local buildings. At the end of the
17th century, some of the priory buildings remained entire and considerable remains of others existed, but nearly all traces have now disappeared except much of the defensive Priory wall, with its towers and gates. To the west of the Cathedral, the
14th century main gateway into the Cathedral precinct, known as the Pends, also survives.
Apart from most of the east and west gables, the south
nave wall, and parts of the south transept, the Cathedral itself has been reduced to its foundations by stone robbing. Fragments can be found built into the older buildings throughout the town. A site museum (
Historic Scotland; entrance charge) contains an impressive collection of stonework from all phases of the Cathedral's history, from early medieval to
17th century. The most important single piece is the St Andrews Sarcophagus, a masterpiece of
8th century Pictish sculpture.
St Rule's Tower
St Rule's tower is located in the Cathedral grounds but predates it, probably itself having been part of the Cathedral up to the early 12th century. The building was retained to allow worship to continue uninterrupted during the building of its much larger successor. Originally, the tower and adjoining
choir were part of a church built probably in the
11th century to hold the relics of St Andrew. The
nave, with twin western turrets, and the
apse of the church no longer stand. The church's original appearance is illustrated in stylised form on some of the early seals of the Cathedral Priory. Legend credits
St Rule (also known as
St Regulus) with bringing relics of
St Andrew to the area from their original location at
Patras in
Greece. Today the tower commands an admirable view of the town, harbour, sea, and surrounding countryside. Beautifully built in grey
sandstone ashlar, and immensely tall, it's a land- and sea-mark seen from many miles away, its prominence doubtless meant to guide pilgrims to the place of the Apostle's relics. In the
Middle Ages a spire atop the tower made it even more prominent. The tower was originally ascended using ladders between wooden floors, but a stone spiral staircase was inserted in the
18th century (
Historic Scotland; entrance charge to Tower and site museum).
Castle
The picturesque ruins of St Andrews Castle stand on a rocky
promontory much worn away by the sea. Bishop Roger supposedly erected the first stone castle on the site about the beginning of the
13th century as an episcopal residence, strongly fortified. English invaders frequently captured it, and after its recapture by the Scottish regent,
Andrew Murray, in 1336-37, it was destroyed lest it should fall into their hands. Towards the close of the century Bishop Trail rebuilt it in the form of a massive five-sided enclosure with a moat on the south and west sides.
James I spent some of his early years within it under the care of Bishop Wardlaw, and it was the birthplace of
James III in
1445. From a window in the castle Cardinal
Beaton witnessed the burning of the
Protestant reformer
George Wishart (
1546) for the crime of
heresy, and in the same year a party of
Reformers murdered Beaton within it. The Castle was taken from the conspirators by the French, after a year-long siege, among the prisoners captured being
John Knox.
Parish Church of the Holy Trinity
Bishop
Thurgot founded the town church (officially known as the Parish Church of the Holy Trinity) in 1112. Originally standing close to the east end of the Cathedral, the parish church was moved in the
15th century to a new site on the north side of South Street. This was one of
Scotland's largest parish churches, with a round-pillared nave and chancel, and a north-west tower crowned by a stone spire. Largely rebuilt in the
18th century, the church was restored to a (more elaborately decorated) approximation of its medieval appearance in the early
20th century. Only the tower, part of the west wall and the internal pillars survive from the original building. In this church
John Knox first preached in public (May or June)
1547, and in it, on
4 June 1559, he delivered the famous sermon from St Matthew xxi. 12, 13, which led to the stripping of the Cathedral and the destruction of the monastic buildings. Holy Trinity contains an elaborate monument in white marble to
James Sharp, Archbishop of St Andrews (assassinated
1679). A rare survival from the
Middle Ages are a few of the church's elegantly carved choir stalls, thought to have been carved by the famous French sculptor James Bentley.
Holy Trinity Parish Church is a congregation of the
Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The current (
2006) minister is the Rev. Rory MacLeod.
The town also has other churches, including three other Church of Scotland congregations (St Leonard's, Martyrs' and
Hope Park), a Free Church of Scotland, two
Scottish Episcopal Church congregations (St Andrew's and All Saints'), a
Baptist church, a
Roman Catholic church (St James' built in 1909), the Eden Fellowship, a
Gospel Hall, a
Religious Society of Friends (Quaker)
Meeting House and a Kingdom Vineyard Fellowship.
Chapel of the Blackfriars
In South Street stands the elegant late medieval ruin of the north transept of the chapel of the
Dominican Friary, founded by Bishop Wishart in
1274, the only part of the House of the Blackfriars to remain above ground.
All traces of the
Observantine Franciscan Friary founded about 1450 by Bishop Kennedy have disappeared, except the well and a small section of boundary wall.
Education
The University of St Andrews
The
University of St Andrews owed its origin to a society formed in
1410 by Lawrence of Lindores, abbot of
Scone, Richard Cornwall, archdeacon of
Lothian, William Stephenson, afterwards
bishop of
Dunblane, and a few others. Bishop
Henry Wardlaw (died 1440) issued a charter in 1411 and attracted the most learned men in Scotland as professors. In
1413 Avignon Pope Benedict XIII issued six
bulls confirming the charter and constituting the society a
university. Lectures took place in various parts of the town until 1430, when Wardlaw allowed the lecturers the use of a building called the
Paedagogium, or St Johns College. Bishop Kennedy founded and richly endowed
St Salvator's College in 1450; seven years later it gained the right to confer degrees in
theology and
philosophy, and by the end of the century was regarded as a constituent part of the university.
In 1512 Prior John Hepburn and Archbishop
Alexander Stewart founded
St Leonard's College on the site of the buildings which at one time served as a hostel for pilgrims. In the same year Archbishop Stewart nominally changed the original
Paedagogium into a college and annexed to it the parish church of St Michael of Tarvet; but its actual erection into a college didn't take place until 1537, when it was dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin Mary of the Assumption. The outline of the ancient structure has survived, but various restorations have much altered its general character. It forms two sides of a quadrangle, the library and principal's residence standing on the north and the lecture rooms and the old dining-hall to the west.
The University library, which now includes the older college libraries, was founded in 1612, rebuilt in 1764, and improved in 1829 and 1889 - 1890. The lower hall in the older part of the building was used at times as a provincial meeting-place for the
Scottish Parliament. When the constitution of the colleges was remodelled in 1579 St Mary's was set apart for theology; and in 1747 the colleges of St Salvator and St Leonard were formed into the
United College. A co-educational school now occupies the buildings of
St Leonards.
The University retains ownership of the tiny St Leonards college chapel, and candle-lit services take place weekly during term-time. The United College occupies the site of St Salvator's College, but, with the exception of the college chapel, the entrance gateway and clock tower (152 feet high) and the janitor's house with some classrooms above, the original buildings have been removed. The chapel is now used as the university chapel, and is a fine
Gothic structure, containing an elaborate tomb of Bishop Kennedy and Knox's pulpit.
The modern buildings, in the
Jacobean style, were erected between 1827 and 1847. University College, Dundee, became in 1890 affiliated to the University of St Andrews. The
House of Lords set aside this arrangement in
1895, but a re-affiliation took place in
1897. This affiliation ended in
1967 with the founding of the
University of Dundee. In 1887 - 1888 a common dining-hall for the students was established; in 1892 provision was made within the university for the instruction of women, and in 1896 a permanent building was opened for the board and residence of women students. To the south of the library, the
Bute Medical Buildings, erected by the munificence of the
3rd Marquess of Bute, was opened in 1899. It was during the principalship of Dr James Donaldson, who succeeded
John Tulloch (1823 - 1886), that most of the modern improvements were introduced.
Madras College
Madras College, founded and endowed by Dr Andrew Bell (1755-1832), a native of the town, is a famous school.
St Leonards
St Leonards
(External Link
), founded in 1877 as an all-girls school, is now a co-educational school for 3-18 year olds.
Leisure
St Andrews has a variety of sporting activities open to the public. The East Sands Leisure Centre, which sits on the outskirts of the town, is a popular place for tourists wishing to swim, play pool or even keep fit in the gym. On the local East Sands beach, surfing is possible though big waves are a rarity that are more common during the winter months. Kite flying is often found on the West Sands beach. Being the "Home of Golf", it's understandable that golf is St Andrews' most popular sport. Where it may cost £130 for an adult to play on the Old Course (as of 2008)
(External Link), it costs only a fraction of that to play on some of the other links courses. There are 7 links golf courses in all; Old, New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum, Balgove and the Castle Course.
Other places of interest:
- St Andrews Tennis Club
- St Andrews University Sports Centre
- Madras Rugby Club
- St Andrews Links Golf Driving Range
Representation
Prior to 1975 the town was governed by a council,
provost and
baillies. In 1975, St Andrews came under Fife Regional Council and North East Fife District Council, since merged to create a single-tier
Fife Council. St Andrews retains its own Community Council.
According to the 1911 records, the town gave its name to the district group of burghs for returning one member to parliament, the other constituents being the two
Anstruthers,
Crail,
Cupar,
Kilrenny and
Pittenweem. Currently, St Andrews is part of the
North East Fife Parliamentary Constituency, which is represented in the UK Parliament by
Sir Menzies Campbell CBE QC MP and in the Scottish Parliament by
Iain Smith MSP.
Trivia
According to a plaque in St Andrews, the first dollar symbol was cast in a type-foundry in
Philadelphia in 1797 that belonged to a Scots emigrant
John Baine. John Baine and
Alexander Wilson, the father of Scottish type-founding, had been supported by Bailie Bell of St Andrews. Bailie Bell was the father of the educationalist
Andrew Bell who established Madras College.
The British actress
Judi Dench will be awarded an honorary degree by the St Andrews University. She will be made a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) on Tuesday 24 June 2008.
Distinguished actress to be honoured by UniversityFurther Information
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