St. Andrews Cathedral, Scotland

The medieval town of St Andrews grew around the castle and Cathedral, under the eye of the Bishops. It was never a walled town but the roads leading into it were protected by gateways, the West Port still stands near the Cathedral.

St. Andrews started out as Kilrymont. We know that there was a monastic community here during the reign of Oengus, King of the Picts, who ruled between 729 and 761, as there are Irish annals that record the death of the Abbot here in 747. In 943, King Constantine II abdicated the throne, in order to become leader of the monastic community here. Shortly after this, Kilrymont became the headquarters of the Scottish Church. This honour used to belong to Iona, but it became impracticable due to the persistent raids by the Vikings there. The early Scottish Church was lead by Abbots rather than by Bishops, who were defined by geographical Dioceses, as in England.

Alexander I of Scotland, made three attempts to appoint a Bishop to Kilrymont in order to help reform the church. His first two attempts were unsuccessful, but on his third attempt, he put his trust in Robert, Prior of Scone, which was the first Augustinian Abbey to be established in Scotland, around 1120. Robert was entrusted to introduce a community of Augustinian Canons, to make Kilrymont, later St Andrews, into a Cathedral foundation. Shortly after Robert became Bishop, the Celtic name of Kilrymont seemed to fade out, and the town became known as St Andrews.

The Cathedral’s chapter would be responsible for electing and advising the Bishop, and for providing services within the Cathedral. Although the Bishop faced strong opposition from the existing clergy, who were Culdees, Bishop Robert was determined that the Augustinian order would supersede them, and he had all endowments of land and wealth transferred to the new Priory. He gave the existing Culdees an opportunity to become canons, however they preferred to remain a separate body, and were given a permanent home in the Church of St. Mary on the Rock.

St. Rule’s Church is thought to have been built by Bishop Robert, soon after his consecration in 1127. The 33 meter tall tower is similar to the one seen at Restenneth Priory, and dates from around same period although the church of St. Rule has proven difficult to date, and experts don’t agree on exactly when it was built. Some think it could date back to the reign of King Malcolm III of Scotland.

Bishop Robert, although having been Prior of Scone previously, had before that also been a canon of Nostell Priory, which was Scones mother house in Yorkshire. Those of you who have been paying attention, may have noticed that just as the early monasteries in England were ruled by Normans from the late 11th Century, in the 12th Century Scottish churches were run by the English. This would have been unheard of later, but at this time, in the 12th Century, it all seems quite acceptable.

It was Bishop Arnold of St Andrews, who was Robert’s successor; he began the large new Cathedral in the 1160’s. St. Rule’s Church was now too small for the growing community, and so work began on a much larger Cathedral. The building work focused on the more important parts of the church first, at the east end with the presbytery, altar and choir. We know that it wasn’t yet completed by 1202, as the then Bishop had to be buried in St. Rule’s Church, because the new Cathedral was incomplete. The first Bishop to be buried in the Cathedral was Bishop William, who died in 1238. The nave was not completed until the 1270’s, just over 100 years after the Cathedral’s building work began. The Cathedral was finally consecrated on the 5th of July in 1318. King Robert the Bruce was in attendance and, according to legend, rode up the aisle on his horse.

William de Lamberton became Bishop of St Andrews in 1297, and he used his influence to help fight the Wars of Independence. He campaigned for the national cause and used Cathedral funds to help finance the war. In 1298, he travelled to France to help build support for the Scottish cause. This lead to both the King of France and Pope Boniface VIII, putting pressure Edward I to halt his attacks. The Bishop returned again to France in 1301 and 1302, to continue to gain France’s support in the war.

In 1418, Bishop Wardlaw, founded a university at St. Andrews, today this is the oldest Scottish University still in operation.  In the same year, the Cathedral’s Prior was given permission to wear the mitre, by the Pope. This gave him the same status as the Bishop. The Prior and canons technically had the right to elect their Bishop, but in practice it was the Pope, and later the King, who made the choice. By the 16th Century, even the Prior was chosen by the King.

The Reformation of the Scottish Church, in 1560, was the beginning of the end for the Cathedral Priory. The Cathedral was still staffed by more than thirty canons, but the Bishop seems to have accepted the decision. The Cathedral was abandoned, since the parish church was sufficient for the needs of the town. The roofs were stripped of their lead, and the buildings were used as a quarry. Lord James Stewart, was Commendator of the Priory at this time, and continued to live in part of the canon’s cloister for some years afterwards, but by the end of the 16th Century the buildings were in decay.  There was thought of restoration, as both James VI and Charles I considered restoring it, Charles I called for a report on the feasibility of this but it was never begun, and today little remains of the once towering structures.