Church on Sunday...St Andrews

Well a cathedral actually...well what's left of it anyway!When we were over at St.Andrews we took a walk through the town to the site of the cathedral. The size of the cathedral can be seen from the remains and it must have been an impressive place 700 years ago.

It was in its day, the largest and most important church in Scotland 

It was built between 1160 and 1318 

You can still see good evidence of where the main altar stood...

and the bases of the main support pillars.

There had however been a church on the site since the 8th century but the current site's oldest remains are that of  'St Rule's tower' which is located in the Cathedral grounds. It served as a church to up to the early 12th century. It continued to be used during the building of its much larger successor.

 Inside the tower.

 St Rule (or Regulus) is credited with bringing the relics of St Andrew to Scotland.

The cathedral ruins are surrounded by a graveyard...

and by the most complete and imposing monastic enclosure walls in Scotland.

The ruins look out to the north sea whose winds and rain have added to the deterioration of the remaining stonework but it was the Reformation that really brought its demise.

 Where's Joan.?

She's not here obviously but there is a connection in that the town of St Andrews is twinned with the Southern Touraine town of Loches which Joan passed through on her way to Chinon.

                                
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