Kingdom of Fife
St Andrews Cathedral
About
St Andrews Cathedral
The Cathedral of St Andrew (often referred to as St Andrews Cathedral) is a ruined cathedral in St Andrews. 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. At Hopscotch Travel, our St Andrews and Fishing Villages of Fife private tour incorporate St Andrews Cathedral.
Things to see & do
FAQs
St Andrews is known as the home of golf, with the Old Course the oldest in the world, for Scotland's oldest university founded in 1413, and for the ruins of what was once the largest cathedral in the country, lost in the Reformation.
It wasn't torn down deliberately. It fell into ruin after the 1560 Reformation, when Protestant reformers stripped out its furnishings. Neglect and later use as a source of building stone did the rest, and the structure gradually collapsed.
St Andrews Cathedral is now a ruin cared for by Historic Environment Scotland and open to visit. Two of its original towers and long stretches of wall survive, and at around 119 metres long it was the largest building in medieval Scotland.
The grounds and exterior are free to walk. There's a charge to enter the Cathedral Museum and to climb St Rule's Tower, around 6 pounds per adult, managed by Historic Environment Scotland.
Book a private tour and explore
St Andrews Cathedral
with a local expert guide.
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