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St.Andrews Castle

The castle ruins lie beneath the eye of the Cathedral and were the scene of religious wars and sieges. The infamous Bottle Dungeon is still to be seen as is the site of the martyrdom of George Wishart, burnt at the stake at the entry to the Castle as Cardinal Beaton watched from his window. The leading reformist, John Knox, was captured during the siege of the Castle and spent several years as a galley slave of the French before returning to Scotland to be the scourge of Mary, Queen of Scots.

The Castle - in detail

The nature of Scottish medieval politics made it necessary for the Bishops of St Andrews to have a stout residence. We can see this today in the remains of St Andrews Castle. The Castle was built on an existing site in 1203 by Bishop Roger as a fortress and ecclesiastical residence.

In its time the castle and surrounding area suffered many sieges and infamous events. In 1433 Paul Craw became the first person to be burned at the stake in St. Andrews, in Market Street. In 1528 Patrick Hamilton was burned at the stake outside St. Salvators. In 1546 George Wishart burned at stake outside the castle. In revenge for this on 28th May 1546 a small group of Protestants took the castle by subterfuge and murdered Cardinal David Beaton, the Archbishop of St Andrews. Protestants held the castle for a year with the help of Henry VIII. The castle was then besieged by the 2nd Earl of Arran and taken in 1547. During the siege the castle was damaged by cannon fire from guns mounted on the towers of the Cathedral and St Salvator's church. The mine and countermine date from this period. Arran cut a passageway under the castle with the intention of breaching the castle's foundations. The defenders cut a countermine to intercept this mine. The seige of the castle ended under bombardment from the French fleet. John Knox and the other defenders were sent imprisoned to France. The castle was rebuilt after the siege but it was back in the hands of the Protestants at the end of 1559.

The Martyrs Monument, erected in 1842, commemorates the Protestant martyrs Paul Craw (1433), Patrick Hamilton (1528), Henry Forrest (1533) George Wishart (1546) and Walter Myln (1558) of those turbulent times.

There is no evidence that St Andrews was a walled city. However, around the 16th century the outer extremities of all streets and wynds were closed by ports (gates). The rear walls of gardens formed the rest of the defences. The only port to remain today is the West Port. This is on South Street but was extensively remodelled in 1843.

This site is under construction.

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