St Andrews Cathedral — Attraction in Great Britain

The Cathedral of St Andrew (often referred to as St Andrews Cathedral) is a ruined cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. 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 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. It is currently a monument in the custody of Historic 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.

Abandonment and ruin

Recent view of the east tower, St. Rule's Tower and graveyard beneath, 10 October 2022.

The ruins of the nave of St. Andrews Cathedral

Remains of the arcade that used to support the main hall of the cathedral in the Middle Ages.

Archway over main west door, St Andrews Cathedral

Historic view of St Andrews Cathedral

The St Andrews Sarcophagus. In June 1559 during the Reformation, a Protestant mob incited by the preaching of John 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.

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 and the west wall of the south transept.

At the end of the seventeenth century some of the priory 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...

This is a spectacular ruined Cathedral situated in the heart of St Andrews and is also one of the best and prominent ruined religious buildings around. A lot of the site is closed off due to safety reasons but that should not put off anyone as you can still marvel at the spectacular ruins. The site offers an interesting and informative museum where you can learn an interesting history of the Cathedral and how it became the ruin that it is today and also can also learn about the artefacts that are on view and are quite interesting to see. There are a few informative information boards detailing information about different points around the Cathedral and their history where the information is presented in an informatice and easy to follow format. Visitors can also walk up St Rule's Tower to the top and once at the top St Rule's Tower you can marvel at the spectacularly picteresque views towards Dundee, Carnoustie and Arbroath towards the North and North East and also took at the North Sea which looks perfectly still making the walk to the top of St Rule's Tower all the more spectacular and interesting. There is a small gift shop with nice selection of souvenirs at affordable and decent prices. Overall this place a cracking and brilliant day out to look at one of the most interesting and intriguing religious...

St Andrew’s Cathedral in St Andrew’s, Fife, Scotland is a historic, ruined cathedral that you can still explore the grounds of. It was built in 1158 and completed in 1328 in the Romanesque style. In its heyday, it is was the center of medieval church in Scotland. There are still many walls standing and an ancient graveyard. A pit is there as well, with four, exposed, stone coffins; one still has its lid on. The cathedral is in a gorgeous spot, set right beside the ocean near the university.

In 1559 it was attacked by a mob and burned. St Andrews was abandoned in 1561 during the Scottish reformation, after Catholic mass was banned. The town took most of its stones for building material. It was the largest church ever built in Scotland. St Rule’s tower still remains, which was the first church that was used until the mighty St Andrews church...