St Regulus Chapel
| St Andrews Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| The Cathedral of St Andrew | |
The Cathedral of St Andrews east tower
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| 56°20′24″N 2°47′15″W / 56.3400°N 2.7875°WCoordinates: 56°20′24″N 2°47′15″W / 56.3400°N 2.7875°W | |
| Location | St Andrews |
| Country | Scotland |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| History | |
| Founded | 1158 |
| Founder(s) | Ernald |
| Dedicated | 1318 |
| Relics held | Bones of St. Andrew |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Ruined |
| Style | Gothic |
| Closed | 1561 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 391 ft (119 m) |
| Width | 168 ft (51 m) |
| Height | 100 ft (30 m) |
The Cathedral of St Andrew (often referred to as St Andrews Cathedral) is a ruined Roman Catholic cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. 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 Scotland. The ruins indicate that the building was approximately 119m (391 feet) long, and is the largest church to have been built in Scotland.
The cathedral was founded to supply more accommodation than the older church of St. Regulus (St. Rule) afforded. This older church, located on what became the cathedral grounds, had been built in the Romanesque style. Today, there remains the square tower, 33 metres (108 feet) high, and the quire, of very diminutive proportions. On a plan of the town from about 1531, a chancel appears, and seals affixed to the city and college charters bear representations of other buildings attached. To the east is an even older religious site, the Church of St Mary on the Rock, the Culdee house that became a Collegiate Church.
Work began on the new cathedral in 1158 and continued for over a century. The west end was blown down in a storm and rebuilt between 1272 and 1279. It was dedicated on 5 July 1318, in a ceremony before King Robert I . When intact it had, besides a central tower, six turrets; of these remain two at the east and one of the two at the western extremity, rising to a height of 30 metres (100 feet).
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