St Andrews Castle
St Andrews Castle
St Andrews Castle was the home of the bishops of St Andrews. The site has been fortified since at least the 1190s. However, most of what we see today was built between 1380 and 1560. St Andrews Castle was the scene of major events in Scottish history. In 1452 the future King James III was born here. Nearly a century later, in 1546, one of the most powerful men in Scotland, Cardinal David Beaton, was murdered in the Castle by a group of Protestant noblemen. The Cardinal's assassins then occupied St Andrews Castle for over a year. They eventually surrendered when bombarded by ships sent from France. During the 1546-47 siege, attacking forces tried to capture the Castle by mining under the walls. The resulting mine still survives, and is the best preserved sixteenth-century siege mine in Europe.
Richard Fawcett on the significance of the St Andrews Castle
Katie Stevenson on Walter Bower's account of medieval activities in the St Andrews Castle
Michael Brown on John Knox's account of the bombardment of the St Andrews Castle in 1547
Street View
Additional Information
Location: On the north side of The Scores. Date Built: Twelfth to sixteenth centuries.
The English occupied St Andrews Castle several times during the Scottish Wars of Independence. In 1337 Scottish forces regained control of the castle. The Scots then demolished most of the fortifications to prevent the castle being held by enemy forces. The defences were rebuilt in the late fourteenth century.
James I (reigned 1406-1437) lived at St Andrews Castle when he was a small child.
During the sixteenth century plant seeds for the castle garden were imported from France.
In March 1546 the Protestant preacher George Wishart was burnt for heresy outside St Andrews Castle.
Cardinal Beaton's murderers entered St Andrews Castle through the front gates (which had been left open to allow building work to take place).
There has been major erosion at the Castle site. Most of the East Range of the Castle has fallen into the sea.