My Auld University Tour begins where higher education begins for Scotland: at the University of St. Andrews.
The University of St. Andrews, located in the Kingdom of Fife, was founded in 1413 under the papal authority of Pope Benedict XIII. It is the oldest university in Scotland, and the third oldest amongst English-speaking institutions, only predated by Oxford ((#1) and Cambridge (#2).
St. Andrews is consistently ranked one of the best universities in the world and applications to its fine arts program tripled when Prince William enrolled at St. Andrews in 2001 to study art history. Notable alumni of St. Andrews include King James II, Prince William (Class of 2005, Art History and Geography), James Wilson of the United States Declaration of Independence, John Knox, world champion cyclist Chris Hoy, and John Napier, inventor of logarithms. Yes, I think there should be some women included on that list, too!
As St. Andrews as a university expanded over centuries, its buildings and colleges are scattered throughout the town of St. Andrews without a central or continious campus. The first college of St. Andrews was St. Salvator’s College (below), founded in 1450, initially for the study of theology and the arts.
What I found particularly interesting about St. Salvator’s College is its main entrance faces out to the main road of St. Andrews, instead of in a self-enclosed quad area like Oxford and Cambridge. In a time where town-gown relationships were far from warm in England, it seems Scotland’s first insitution of higher had a different relationship with its host town. When I got home I looked this up on the university website, and my suspicions were confirmed: “From its beginnings, [St. Salvator] had a dual role both as the College Chapel and as a collegiate church serving the wider community. It was intended to have a national role through the improvement of the theological education of the Scottish clergy. “
Much like the rest of St. Andrews, the Reformation in Scotland took its toll on St. Salvator’s chapel and college. For one, the chapel (seen above) was stripped of all its Gothic glory by the fervent Protestants. The building used to be far more ornate, but its statues, saints and Biblical figures were torn from the building’s exterior and interior by the Reformers.
Another somber reminder of the religious strife in St. Andrews can be found just a few feet outside of the main entrance gates of the St. Salvator’s Quad. Beneath the Bell Tower lays the initials of Patrick Hamilton in colored cobblestones. Hamilton was a 24-year-old student who was burnt at the stake for his Protestant loyalty. Hamiliton is considered the “First Martyr of the Reformation” (damn it, he beat me to it!).
Students even today believe walking on his initials to be extremly bad luck and will cause the person to fail their exams (I carefully stepped around the stones – I got a Masters degree to finish, thank you).
Behind St. Salvator College is the St. Salvator Residence Hall, which looks nothing like the residence halls I lived and worked in, I assure you.
I then continued onwards to other random university buildings, most of which were closed because I decided to come to St. Andrews on a Saturday in the summer. I did find the music hall – Younger Hall – and admire its Baroque architecture. Younger Hall is where many degree-giving ceremonies are held.
Below is an insignia above the gates of St. Mary’s College, the School of Divinity. St. Mary’s was founded by Archbishope Beaton, who was murdered by the Protestants during the Scottish Reformation, as we learned earlier.
Unfortunately, St. Mary’s was closed and the gates were locked, so I was unable to see the quad area, which I read was quite picturasque.
Feeling slight defeated, I wandered down to the Long Pier to partake in the traditional Sunday Walk. On Sunday early afternoons after church, students of St. Andrews University in their scarlet robes take the time-honored walk to the end of the pier and back. This has been a tradition for many many years; I was happy to participate in it myself.
