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| St Andrews Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| The Cathedral of St Andrew | |
 East tower of St Andrews Cathedral and St Rule's Tower | |
 St Andrews Cathedral | |
| 56°20′24″N2°47′15″W / 56.3400°N 2.7875°W /56.3400; -2.7875 | |
| Location | The Pends,St Andrews,Fife KY16 9QL |
| Country | Scotland |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Ruined |
| Founded | 1158; 868 years ago (1158) |
| Founder | Ernald |
| Dedication | Andrew the Apostle |
| Dedicated | 1318; 708 years ago (1318) |
| Relics held | Bones ofSt Andrew |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Romanesque,Gothic[citation needed] |
| Groundbreaking | 1158 |
| Completed | 1318 |
| Closed | 1561; 465 years ago (1561) |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 391 ft (119 m) |
| Width | 168 ft (51 m) |
| Height | 100 ft (30 m) |
| Number of spires | 1 (fell in the 16th century) |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese of St Andrews |
| Official name | St Andrews Cathedral and Priory and adjacent ecclesiastical remains |
| Designated | 12 February 1999; 27 years ago (1999-02-12) |
| Reference no. | SM13322 |
TheCathedral of St Andrew (often referred to asSt Andrews Cathedral) is a ruinedcathedral inSt Andrews,Fife,Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of theArchdiocese of St Andrews and theBishops and Archbishops of St Andrews. It fell into disuse and ruin after the Catholic mass was outlawed during the 16th-centuryScottish Reformation. It is a monument in the custody ofHistoric Environment Scotland. The ruins indicate that the building was approximately 119 m (390 ft) long, and is the largest church to have been built in Scotland.
The cathedral was founded to supply more accommodation than the older church ofSt. Regulus (St. Rule) afforded. This older church, located on what became the cathedral grounds, had been built in theRomanesque style. Today, there remains the square tower, 33 metres (108 feet) high, and thequire, of very diminutive proportions. On a plan of the town from about 1531, achancel 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, theChurch of St Mary on the Rock, theCuldee house that became aCollegiate Church.
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 KingRobert the Bruce, 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 ofAugustinian Canons, theSt Andrews Cathedral Priory, which were successors to theCuldees of the Celtic church.
Greyfriar (Franciscan) and Blackfriar (Dominican)friars had properties in the town by the late 15th century and possibly as late as 1518.
In June 1559 during the Reformation, a Protestant mob incited by the preaching ofJohn Knox 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.[1]
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 thenave and the west wall of the southtransept.
At the end of the seventeenth century some of thepriory 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 asThe Pends.
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 adjoiningchoir were part of the church built in the 11th century to house the relics of St Andrew. Thenave, with twin western turrets, and theapse 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 creditsSt Rule (also known asSt Regulus) with bringing relics ofSt Andrew to the area from their original location atPatras inGreece. Today the tower commands an admirable view of the town, harbour, sea, and surrounding countryside. Built in greysandstoneashlar, 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 theMiddle 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.
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