St Andrews

St. Andrews, a Scotch parliamentary and royal burgh, situated on St. Andrews Bay on the E. coast of Fife, 42 miles N.N.E. of Edinburgh. The ecclesiastical history of the town can be traced back to the 6th century, when a monastery (Kilrimont) was founded here by St. Kenneth. In the early part of the 10th century it was already the seat of the Scotch primate. The cathedral and Castle (bishop's palace), begun about 1160 and 1200 respectively, are both in ruins. There are some scanty remains of the Augustinian and Dominican monasteries, founded 1144 and 1274, but that of the Greyfriars has wholly disappeared. The interesting Romanesque church of St. Regulus or St. Rule has a lofty Square tower, which is believed by some antiquaries to be of Culdee origin. The university, founded 1411, is the oldest in Scotland. It comprises the United Colleges of St. Salvator and St. Leonard, with courses in arts and medicine, and the theological college of St. Mary. St. Salvator's College was originally founded in 1455, St. Leonard's in 1512, and St. Mary's in 1587. The chief school is the Madras College, founded by Dr. Bell in 1833. St. Andrews was a place of commercial importance in the 15th and 16th centuries, but its trade is now small, and of late years the fishing industry has declined. Since about 1855 or 1800 it has come into much favour as a watering-place, and a new town has rapidly sprung up. The St. Andrews golf-links are noted, and clubs and balls are manufactured.