Ordnance Survey large scale Scottish town plans, 1847-1895
The
ancient university town of St Andrews is located on the north-east coast of
Fife, next to 'the German Ocean' (now called the North Sea). Named after its
ruined cathedral and Scotland's patron saint, St Andrews was, up until the
Reformation, the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland. Before it became a
Christian centre during the reign of a Pictish king in the ninth century, the
town was known as Mucros, which means
'wood or promontory of the pigs' (there is still a section of the town called
Boarhills and the town's crest includes a pig). If local legend is to believed,
it was St Regulus, or St Rule, who brought the ancient relics (his bones) of
Saint Andrew back to Scotland from Greece in AD 345. This explains why the town
was known in Gaelic as baile reuil, which means the 'town of Rule'.
The
town was first granted a royal charter by David I of Scotland in or around
1140. St Andrews also enjoys prestige for being the 'home of golf', with
written golfing records dating back to as early as 1552. The town's population
in the census of 1881 was 6,406, increasing to 6,823 in 1891.
Town Planning
The
town house and tolbooth in Market Street were replaced with the building of the
New Town Hall, between 1858 and 1862. Built in a Scottish style, this new
building included a council room, a police station and a public hall with
retiring rooms. The Recreation Hall, complete with tennis courts, was built in
1884 at a cost of £2,000 - about £115,000 in today's terms. In 1880, an
impressive fountain was built in Market Street, in memory of the novelist,
Major Whyte Melville. The 1890s also witnessed the construction of new golf
courses and alteration to the existing ones. Groome (1893) wrote that 'the game
of golf has been the making of modern St Andrews'.
Trade and Industry
The
main industry in St Andrews during the first half of the nineteenth century was
the weaving of linen, which was then taken to factories in Dundee and Newburgh
for completion. The making of golf balls and golf clubs was also a major
industry, although the golf ball industry was extinct by 1857. An extensive
steam saw-mill was located close to the harbour, while several large flour
mills were owned by an incorporation of bakers. A grain market was held every
Monday, while fairs took place on festival dates throughout the year. There
were also weekly markets for poultry, dairy produce and vegetables. The railway
line to 'the Metropolis of Golfing' opened in 1852, with the station located in
the western part of the town.
Although
the port of St Andrews suffered a decline following its heyday during the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the harbour enjoyed a revival of trade
during the early nineteenth century. The harbour at St Andrews was also the
first in Scotland to have a lifeboat station, which opened in 1800. The East
Neuk region of Fife is located to the south-east of St Andrews, and this
collection of ancient fishing villages provided the town with a diverse range
of sea produce. The town's rural hinterland, meanwhile, provided St Andrews
with grain, potatoes and other produce from the farms of Fife. The town's
railway line was extended to include the East Neuk hinterland in 1887, thereby
aiding the transport of goods from this region.
Religious Life
As
the centre of Scottish religious life, St Andrews witnessed many important
events during the Reformation. Indeed, the Martyrs' Monument (built in 1843) is
located close to the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse. It was from one of the
windows in the twelfth-century castle that Cardinal David Beaton was thrown to
his death by a group of Fife lairds, in a revenge attack for the public burning
of the Protestant preacher, George Wishart.
Although
the twelfth-century Abbey had previously suffered damage from fire, storms and
English armies, its eventual destruction was carried out by a congregational
mob. This rabble descended upon the Abbey in a collective fit of frenzy in June
1559, following a fiery sermon by John Knox, and destroyed everything that they
considered to be 'popery'.
The
second half of the nineteenth century witnessed the building of several new
churches in the parish of St Andrews - this probably being one effect of the
'Great Disruption' of 1843, which so fragmented the Church of Scotland. For instance,
the United Presbyterians built a new church in 1865, while St Mary's Church, in
Market Street, received major improvements in 1870. Likewise, the
Congregational Church erected a new place of worship in South Bell Street
between 1858 and 1860, while the Episcopalians built a new church in 1867.
The university
underwent many changes during the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1892,
for example, it opened its doors to women students, and received the sum of
£30,000 (about £2 million in today's terms) in 1893 to be spent on bursaries
for students of both sexes. Another change occurred in 1889, when the
University College of Dundee became affiliated to St Andrews University.
Turning
attention to the education of children, Madras College, located in South Street
(beside the West Port), was built on land gifted to the school by the famous
educationalist, Rev. Dr. Andrew Bell, in 1832. The town also boasts an
all-girls day and boarding school, St Leonards, which was founded in 1877, and
was originally located at the top end of South Street.
Groome,
Francis H. (ed.), 1894-5. The Ordnance
Gazetteer of Scotland; a survey of Scottish topography, statistical,
biographical, and historical, 2nd ed., (London: William Mackenzie)
Mackay,
George, 2000. Scottish Place Names
(New Lanark: Lomond)
Smith,
Robert, 2001. The Making of Scotland: a
comprehensive guide to the growth of its cities, towns and villages (Edinburgh:
Canongate)
Wilson,
Rev. John Marius (ed.), 1857. The
Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland or Dictionary of Scottish Topography (Edinburgh:
A. Fullarton & Co.)