St Andrews harbour provides an opportunity to reflect on the
origins of the town and on the development of a key symbol of Scottish national
identity. According to legend, the relics of St Andrew were brought to the area
from Patras in Greece by St Regulus, also known as St Rule, in the 4th century
either by design or due to a shipwreck nearby.
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Statue of St Andrew in Wardlaw Museum
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Although St Regulus and his Greek origins may have been the
product of medieval monkish imagination - an alternative legend claims that the
relics came from Hexham in Northumberland - the cult of St Andrew was well
established by the 11th century, when a church housing the sacred relics was
constructed on the headland above the present harbour. Its striking rectangular
tower, known as St Rule's, remains in existence. The relics were subsequently
transferred to the cathedral and lost in the Reformation but the name of St
Regulus is preserved in the town - designating a student hall of residence and
a ladies' golf club.
The diagonal cross on which St Andrew is believed to have
been martyred became prominent in Scottish heraldry, giving rise to the blue
and white saltire of today. But Scotland is not alone in claiming the patronage
of St Andrew. He is similarly recognised in Greece, Romania, Russia, Ukraine
and elsewhere.
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The harbour and St Rule's tower
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Today the harbour is used only by local fishermen and a few
pleasure craft, but in earlier periods it saw trade exporting agricultural
produce and importing coal, timber and other building material. The trading was
mostly coastal but some was conducted with the nearby continent.
From The Shore turn through the archway into The Pends.
Follow the road uphill until reaching a road sign warning of ARCH BRIDGE. Immediately before the sign, branch off to the left and pass through a
gateway into the grounds of St Leonard's School. The building on the right is
St Leonard's Chapel, elements of its structure possibly dating from the 12th
century. It became the chapel of the historic St Leonard's College, founded in
1511, and remains part of St Andrews University. (The interior of the chapel is
closed to the public.) St Leonard was the abbot of Noblac near Limoges in
France in the 6th century, noted for his concern for prisoners, and whose cult
spread very widely across medieval Europe. Return to The Pends and, on reaching
the ruined gateway, emerge through a narrow opening on the left into South
Street. (Entry to the Cathedral Museum and St Rule's tower, 100ft or 33 metres
high with 156 steps, is via the visitor centre in the cathedral grounds to the
right.)
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Statue of St Andrew image © University of St Andrews
Harbour image courtesy Paul Vyšný
