St Andrew's Castle
- Not to be confused with St Andrew's Castle, Hampshire
| St Andrews Castle | |
|
Fife | |
|---|---|
 St Andrews castle ruins | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NO51261690 |
| Location: | 56°20’31"N, 2°47’24"W |
| Town: | St Andrews |
| History | |
| Built c.1200 | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Ruined |
| Owned by: | Historic Scotland |
St Andrews Castle stands in ruin on a rocky promontory by St Andrews in Fife. It overlooks a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea.
A castle has stood on this site since the times of Roger de Beaumont, Bishop of St Andrews (1189-1202), son of the Earl of Leicester. It housed the burgh’s wealthy and powerful bishops at a time that St Andrews served as the ecclesiastical centre of Scotland, before the Reformation. In their Latin charters, the Archbishops of St Andrews wrote of the castle as their palace, signing, "apud Palatium nostrum."[1]
The castle's grounds are now maintained by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.[2] The site is entered through a visitor centre with displays on its history. Some of the best surviving carved fragments from the castle are displayed in the centre, which also has a shop.
Wars of Scotland and England
During the wars between the Kings of Scotland and England, the castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times as it changed hands between the Scots and the English. Soon after the sack of Berwick in 1296 by Edward I of England, the castle was taken and made ready for the English king in 1303. In 1314, however, after Bruce's victory at Bannockburn, the castle was retaken and repaired by Bishop William Lamberton, Guardian of Scotland, a supporter of King Robert the Bruce. The English had recaptured it again by the 1330s and reinforced its defences in 1336, but soon afterwards lost it, when Sir Andrew Moray, Regent of Scotland in the absence of David II, recaptured the castle after a siege lasting three weeks. Shortly after this, in 1336 or 1337, it was destroyed by Moray to prevent the English from once again using it as a stronghold.
The castle remained in this ruined state until Bishop Walter Trail rebuilt it at the turn of the century. His castle forms the basis of what can be seen today. He completed work on the castle in about 1400 and died within its walls in 1401.
Home to kings
Several notable figures spent time in the castle over the next several years. King James I of Scotland (1406-1437) received part of his education from Bishop Henry Wardlaw, the founder of the University of St Andrews in 1410. A later resident, Bishop James Kennedy, was a trusted advisor of King James II (1437-1460). King James III was born in the castle.
Used as a prison
During these years, the castle also served as a notorious prison. The castle's bottle dungeon is a dank and airless pit cut out of solid rock below the north-west tower. It housed local miscreants who fell under the Bishop's jurisdiction as well as several more prominent individuals such as David Stuart, Duke of Rothesay in 1402, Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany in 1425, and Archbishop Patrick Graham, who was adjudged to be insane and imprisoned in his own castle in 1478.
Reformation and siege
During the Reformation, the Bishops imprisoned reformers in the castle dungeon: referring to the bottle dungeon the leader of the Reformation, John Knox, wrote, "Many of God's Children were imprisoned here."
In 1521 James Beaton, then Archbishop of Glasgow, won the see of St Andrews and took up residence in the castle. Beaton altered the defences to enable the castle to withstand a heavy artillery attack, which was a threat as tensions grew between Protestants and Romanists. In 1538 James Beaton was succeeded by his ambitious and wealthy nephew, Cardinal David Beaton. His strong opposition to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Prince Edward (later King Edward VI), the son and heir of Henry VIII of England, helped to spark renewed fighting in in 1544 in the War of the Rough Wooing.
In 1546, Cardinal Archbishop David Beaton imprisoned the Protestant preacher George Wishart (1513-1546) in the castle's Sea Tower and had him burnt at the stake in front of the castle walls on 1 March. Today, brick lettering with his initials marks the spot where he died. In May the same year, Wishart's friends conspired against the cardinal. On 26 May they gained entry to the castle by disguising themselves as masons when some building work was in progress. After overcoming the garrison, they murdered Cardinal Beaton and hung his body from his window on the front of the castle.
Following this murder, the Protestants took refuge in the castle and formed the first Protestant congregation in Scotland. A long siege was ordered by the Scottish Regent, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran. In October 1546 a mine was begun by the attackers which was successfully counter-mined by the defenders.[3] Both the mine and counter-mine cut through solid rock. They were rediscovered in 1879 and remain open to the public today. Arran heard that an English army was on its way to relieve the Castle and asked Fife Lairds like John Wemyss of that Ilk to come by 4 November 1546, bringing his followers and whatever artillery they had to resist a sea invasion.[4] Although Henry VIII made plans to assist the Protestants within the castle,[5] the invasion never came and his son Edward VI did not send aid.
During an armistice in April 1547, John Knox entered the castle and served as the garrison's preacher for the remainder of the siege. For a time Knox had the freedom to pass to and from the castle to preach in the parish church. This peaceful interlude came to end, however, when a French fleet arrived bringing an Italian engineer Leone Strozzi who directed a devastating artillery bombardment to dislodge the Protestant lairds. The lairds knew an expert was in the field when their own Italian engineer observed cannon being winched into position with ropes rather than exposing the besiegers to their fire.[6] Guns were also placed on St Salvator's and the cathedral towers. One of the largest Scottish cannon was called "thrawynmouthe."[7] The castle was quickly rendered indefensible. Within six hours according to Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie.[8] The defeated Protestants were taken away: some were imprisoned in France while others, including Knox, were condemned to the galleys.
Decline and current condition
Following this Protestant defeat, the castle was substantially rebuilt by Archbishop John Hamilton, the illegitimate brother of Regent Arran, and successor to Cardinal Beaton. Following his death in 1571 it was mainly occupied by a succession of constables. By this time the Reformation was firmly established.
Parliament separated the castle from the archbishopric in 1606, and it was granted to the Earl of Dunbar, constable since 1603. In 1612 it was returned to Archbishop George Gledstanes, but further attempts to re-establish the former estates of the Archbishop failed. With the eventual success of the Reformation in Scotland, the office of the bishop was increasingly eroded until it was finally abolished by Parliament under King William in 1689. Deprived of any function, the castle fell rapidly into ruin by 1656, it had fallen into such disrepair that the burgh council ordered the use of its materials in repairing the pier. The principal remains are a portion of the south wall enclosing a square tower, the "bottle dungeon," the kitchen tower, and the underground mine and counter-mine.
Gallery
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1843-44 photo of St. Andrews Castle by Robert Adamson -
The ruins of St Andrews Castle viewed from St Andrews Pier -
The courtyard of St Andrews Castle
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Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St Andrew's Castle) |
References
- ↑ Charles Jobson Lyon, History of St Andrews, vol.2, (1843), p.244
- ↑ St Andrews Castle - scheduled monument detail (Historic Environment Scotland)
- ↑ Correspondance Politique de Odet de Selve, (1888), 54, 10 November 1546
- ↑ Fraser, William, ed., Memorials of the family of Wemyss, vol. 3, Edinburgh (1888), 7, (letter 31 October 1546)
- ↑ State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 5, part IV part 2, (1836), 572-584.
- ↑ Lindsay of Pitscottie, Chronicles of Scotland, vol. 2, Edinburgh, (1814), 489-490.
- ↑ Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 9 (1911), 103.
- ↑ Lindsay of Pitscottie, Chronicles of Scotland, vol. 2, Edinburgh, (1814), 490.