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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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St Andrews
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(11,000 in 1991)
City on the east coast of Scotland, in Fife, which was a medieval centre of Christianity and learning. Legend states that a certain St Rule (or Regulus) was shipwrecked here in the 4C when he happened to have with him the mortal remains of St *Andrew. It is more likely that the relics were brought here in the 8C, when a Pictish king dedicated a church to St Andrew (who became the patron saint of the Picts, and then of the *Scots). The town was the seat of a bishop from the 9C and came to be considered the most important Scottish diocese, a status acknowledged with the appointment of an archbishop here in 1472 as the primate of Scotland.
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It was therefore the natural setting for the most violent clashes of the *Reformation. It was here that John *Knox demonstrated his qualities, preaching his first public sermon in 1547 in the 15C Holy Trinity Church. The two main medieval buildings are both now ruins: the 12–14C cathedral, in its day the largest in Scotland; and the 13C castle on a rock by the sea, used by the bishops as a fortified palace. Close to the cathedral the choir survives of the 12C church of St Rule.
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Scotland's first university was founded at St Andrews in 1412. The 15C St Salvator's College is the university centre (though only the chapel survives from that date), and several of the 16C buildings of St Mary's College are still in use. The bright red gowns of the students are a famous feature of St Andrews.
In spite of its strong medieval claims to fame, it is for a more recent distinction that the city is best known – as the home of *golf and of the *Royal and Ancient.
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