The Cathedral of St Andrew (often referred to as St Andrews Cathedral) is a ruined

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the

Archdiocese of St Andrews The Archdiocese of St Andrews (originally the Diocese of St Andrews) was a territorial episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in early modern and medieval Scotland. It was the largest, most populous and wealthiest diocese of the medieva ...

and the Bishops and Archbishops of St Andrews. It fell into disuse and ruin after Catholic mass was outlawed during the 16th-century

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...

. It is currently a monument in the custody of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

. The ruins indicate that the building was approximately long, and is the largest church to have been built in Scotland.

History

Founding and development

The cathedral was founded to supply more accommodation than the older church of St. Regulus (St. Rule) afforded. This older church, located on what became the cathedral grounds, had been built in the Romanesque style. Today, there remains the square tower, 33 metres (108 feet) high, and the quire, of very diminutive proportions. On a plan of the town from about 1531, a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

appears, and seals affixed to the city and college charters bear representations of other buildings attached. To the east is an even older religious site, the

Church of St Mary on the Rock The Church of St Mary on the Rock, or St Mary's Collegiate Church, was a secular college of priests based on the seaward side of St Andrews Cathedral, St Andrews, just beyond the precinct walls. It is known by a variety of other names, such as ...

, the

Culdee The Culdees (; ) were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and then in Scotland, subsequently attached to cathedral or collegiate ...

house that became a

Collegiate Church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

. Work began on the new cathedral in 1158 and continued for over a century. The west end was blown down in a storm and rebuilt between 1272 and 1279. The cathedral was finally completed in 1318 and featured a central tower and six turrets; of these remain two at the east and one of the two at the western extremity, rising to a height of 30 metres (100 feet). On the 5th of July it was consecrated in the presence of King

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

, who, according to legend, rode up the aisle on his horse. A fire partly destroyed the building in 1378; restoration and further embellishment were completed in 1440. The cathedral was served by a community of

Augustinian Canons The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religio ...

, the

St Andrews Cathedral Priory St Andrews Cathedral Priory was a priory of Augustinian canons in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was one of the great religious houses in Scotland, and instrumental in the founding of the University of St Andrews. History Plans were made for i ...

, which were successors to the

Culdees The Culdees (; ) were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and then in Scotland, subsequently attached to cathedral or collegiate ...

of the Celtic church. Greyfriar (

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

) and Blackfriar ( Dominican)

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

s had properties in the town by the late 15th century and possibly as late as 1518.

Abandonment and ruin

In June 1559 during the Reformation, a Protestant mob incited by the preaching of

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

ransacked the cathedral; the interior of the building was destroyed. The cathedral fell into decline following the attack and became a source of building material for the town. By 1561 it had been abandoned and left to fall into ruin. At about the end of the sixteenth century the central tower apparently gave way, carrying with it the north wall. Afterwards large portions of the ruins were taken away for building purposes, and nothing was done to preserve them until 1826. Since then it has been tended with scrupulous care, an interesting feature being the cutting out of the ground-plan in the turf. The principal portions extant, partly Norman and partly Early Scottish, are the east and west gables, the greater part of the south wall of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the west wall of the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

. At the end of the seventeenth century some of the

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

buildings remained entire and considerable remains of others existed, but nearly all traces have now disappeared except portions of the priory wall and the archways, known as ''The Pends''.

St Rule's Tower

St Rule's tower is located in the cathedral grounds but antedates it, having served as the church of the priory 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 A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

were part of the church built in the 11th century to house the relics of St Andrew. The

, with twin western turrets, and the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

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 Saint Regulus or Saint Rule (Old Irish: ''Riagal'') was a legendary 4th century monk or bishop of Patras, Greece who in AD 345 is said to have fled to Scotland with the bones of Saint Andrew, and deposited them at St Andrews. His feast day in th ...

) with bringing relics of

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...

to the area from their original location at

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Today the tower commands an admirable view of the town, harbour, sea, and surrounding countryside. Built in grey

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

, and (for its date) immensely tall (33 m), it is 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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

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.

Burials

In the cathedral

Roger de Beaumont (bishop) Roger de Beaumont (died 1202) was a 12th and 13th century Bishop of St Andrews. Life He was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester. Roger's position as a younger son of the Earl of Leicester meant that Roger had to seek a fortune el ...

(d. 1202) * William Wishart (d. 1279) *

William de Lamberton William de Lamberton, sometimes modernized as William Lamberton, (died 20 May 1328) was Bishop of St Andrews from 1297 (consecrated 1298) until his death. Lamberton is renowned for his influential role during the Scottish Wars of Independence. ...

(1328, on the north side of the high altar) * William Fraser (bishop of St Andrews) (1297, his heart was buried in the wall of the church by his successor, William de Lamberton) * William de Landallis (1385, in the church's vestry) *

James Kennedy (bishop) James Kennedy () (c. 1408–1465) was a 15th-century Bishop of Dunkeld and Bishop of St. Andrews, who participated in the Council of Florence and was the last man to govern the diocese of St. Andrews purely as bishop. One of the Gaelic clan of ...

(1465, in a magnificent tomb which he had caused to be built in St Salvator's Chapel, the ruins of which are still visible) *

Andrew Forman Andrew Forman (11 March 1521) was a Scottish diplomat and prelate who became Bishop of Moray in 1501, Archbishop of Bourges in France, in 1513, Archbishop of St Andrews in 1514 as well as being Commendator of several monasteries. Early life He ...

(d. 1521)

Cathedral burial ground

* Very Rev John Adamson DD * John Anderson, Principal of St Leonards College * Rev Alexander Anderson (1676–1737) son of above * Rev Prof George Buist DD * Robert Chambers * Rev Prof George Cook DD

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

* Rev Prof John Cook DD

* Rev Prof William Crawford DD father of

Thomas Jackson Crawford Thomas Jackson Crawford (1812–1875) was a Scottish minister and professor of divinity at the University of Edinburgh. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1867, the highest level within the Scottish chur ...

* Sir Robert Anstruther Dalyell * Prof

James Donaldson (classical scholar) Sir James Donaldson (26 April 1831 – 9 March 1915) was a Scottish classical scholar, and educational and theological writer. Life Donaldson was born in Aberdeen on 26 April 1831. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School, Marischal C ...

Adam Ferguson Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S. /20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment. Ferguson was sympath ...

* Rev Prof James Gillespie * Rev Prof Thomas Gillespie, Professor of Humanity * Robert Haldane (mathematician) * Thomas Halyburton *

Matthew Forster Heddle Matthew Forster Heddle FRSE (28 April 1828 – 19 November 1897) was a Scottish physician and amateur mineralogist active through the 19th century. Life He was born at Melsetter in Orkney, the son of Robert Heddle (1780–1842) and his wife, ...

George Hill (minister) George Hill FRSE (27 May 1750–19 November 1819) was a Presbyterian polity#Minister, Minister of St Andrews. He was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 17 ...

* Prof Henry David Hill * Rev Prof James Hunter * Prof Thomas Jackson

* David Miller Kay, military hero, author and missionary * Prof Peter Redford Scott Lang, mathematician * Rev Prof John McGill LLD, translator of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

Norman MacLeod (The Wicked Man) Norman MacLeod of MacLeod (Scottish Gaelic: ''Tormod MacLeòid'') (1705–1772), also known as The Wicked Man (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Droch Dhuine''), was an 18th-century Scottish politician and the 22nd Chief of Clan MacLeod. Background Norm ...

Young Tom Morris Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), better known as Young Tom Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four co ...

Old Tom Morris Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died ...

William Henry Murray William Henry Wood Murray (1790–1852), a Scottish actor, manager and theatre owner in Edinburgh, was a friend of Walter Scott and particularly associated with dramatisations of Scott's Waverley Novels. Life Born in Bath on 26 August 1790, ...

* Rev Francis Nicoll DD Principal of

St Salvator's College, St Andrews St Salvator's College was a college of the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. Founded in 1450, it is the oldest of the university's colleges. In 1747 it merged with St Leonard's College, St Andrews, St Leonard's College to form Un ...

* Hugh Lyon Playfair * Rev James Playfair (minister) (memorial only) * Lt Col Sir Robert Lambert Playfair LLD, soldier and author * Prof Alexander Roberts *

Allan Robertson Allan Robertson (11 September 1815 – 1 September 1859) was considered to be one of the first professional golfers. Early years In the mid-19th century golf was played mainly by well-off gentlemen, as hand-crafted clubs and balls were expens ...

* Rev Professor Daniel Robertson DD (1755-1817) * Rev Prof

Samuel Rutherford Samuel Rutherford (also Rutherfurd or Rutherfoord; – 29 March 1661) was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor and theology, theologian and one of the Scottish Commissioners to the Westminster Assembly. Life Samuel Rutherford was born in t ...

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

(partial remains) * Very Rev Robert Small (1732-1808) Moderator in 1791 * William Spalding (writer) * Very Rev Prof Alexander Stewart DD Principal of St Andrews University in 1915,

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

in 1911 * Rev Prof John Trotter * Alexander Watson, Provost of St Andrews * Major John and Lady Catherine Whyte-Melville (the large monument in the far corner of the churchyard) * Prof

William Wright (orientalist) William Wright (17 January 1830 – 22 May 1889) was a famous English Orientalist, and Professor of Arabic in the University of Cambridge. Many of his works on Syriac literature are still in print and of considerable scholarly value, especially ...

Eastern Cemetery

* Col

Robert Hope Moncrieff Aitken Colonel Robert Hope Moncrieff Aitken (8 February 1826 – 18 September 1887) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commo ...

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient *Fr George Angus, first Roman Catholic priest in St. Andrews since the Reformation *

Warington Baden-Powell Henry Warington Smyth Baden-Powell KC (3 February 1847 – 24 April 1921), known as Warington, was a British admiralty lawyer, master mariner and canoeist. He wrote a book on Sea Scouting and held positions in The Boy Scouts Association, form ...

, founder of the

Sea Scouts Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Order of the British Empire, CBE (8 June 1912 – 26 January 2004) was one of the foremost British Abstract art, abstract artists, a member of the influential Penwith Society of Arts. Early life Wilhelmina Barns-Grah ...

* Prof John Birrell * Andrew Kennedy Hutchison Boyd * Sir Napier Burnett * Sir Guy Colin Campbell *

Reginald Fairlie Reginald Francis Joseph Fairlie LLD (7 March 1883 – 27 October 1952) was a Scottish architect. He served as a commissioner of RCAHMS and on the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland. Life see Born at Kincaple, Fife, he was the son of J. Ogi ...

* Cicely Hilda Farmer, novelist * William Lewis Ferdinand Fischer, FRS * James Ross Gillespie, architect * Sir James Heriot-Maitland * Sir John Home *

Andrew Kirkaldy (golfer) Andrew Kirkaldy (18 March 1860 – 16 April 1934) was a Scottish professional golfer who played during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a frequent competitor in the Open Championship, finishing in the top-10 on 14 occasions. His ...

* Vice-Admiral Dashwood Fowler Moir, famed for his actions in the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

and who lost his life protecting the Atlantic Convoy * Charles Metcalfe Ochterlony, 2nd baronet Ochterlony *

James Bell Pettigrew James Bell Pettigrew (26 May 1834 – 30 January 1908) was a Scottish anatomist and noted naturalist, aviation pioneer and museum curator. He was a distinguished naturalist in Britain, and Professor of Anatomy at St Andrews University from 1875 ...

* Lyon Playfair, Baron Playfair *

William Smoult Playfair Dr William Smoult Playfair FRCP (27 July 1836 – 13 August 1903) was a leading Scottish obstetric physician and academic. In 1896 a trial, Kitson v. Playfair, found against him for a breach of medical confidentiality. Biography Playfair was ...

* Prof Thomas Purdie FRS *

Andrew Maitland Ramsay Andrew Maitland Ramsay FRSE LLD (9 November 1859 – 20 March 1946) was a Scottish eye surgeon and medical author. He was President of the Ophthalmological Society of Great Britain 1923/24 and President of the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society of ...

LLD

* Prof

David George Ritchie David George Ritchie (26 October 1853 — 3 February 1903) was a Scottish philosopher who had a distinguished university career at Edinburgh, and Balliol College, Oxford, and after being fellow of Jesus College and a tutor at Balliol College w ...

* Prof

John Tulloch John Tulloch (1 June 1823 – 13 February 1886) was a Scottish theologian and Presbyterian minister. Life Tulloch was born at Dron, south of Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, one of twin sons of Elizabeth (née Maclaren), the daughter of a Perthshi ...

Charles Wordsworth Charles Wordsworth (22 August 1806 – 5 December 1892) was Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane in Scotland. He was a classical scholar, and taught at Public school (United Kingdom), public schools in England and Scotland. He was a rowin ...

References

External links

*
La Catedral de San Andrés, Escocia [Saint Andrews Cathedral, Scotland]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Andrews Cathedral Buildings and structures completed in 1318 12th-century church buildings in Scotland Listed monasteries in Scotland St. Andrew, St. Andrews Listed cathedrals in Scotland Churches in Fife St Andrews Romanesque architecture in Scotland Museums in Fife Former Roman Catholic churches in Scotland Scheduled monuments in Fife Historic Environment Scotland properties in Fife Religious museums in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Fife 1158 establishments in Scotland Ruins in Fife 1561 disestablishments in Scotland