Old Photographs St Andrews Fife Scotland

Tour Scotland wee video of old photographs of St Andrews, a town on the east coast of Fife. The town is home to the University of St Andrews, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world and the oldest in Scotland. The Old Course at St Andrews is considered by many to be the " home of golf " because the sport was first played on the Links at St Andrews in the early 1400s. Members played on what would become the Old Course, but because it was the only course St Andrews had, it was not yet known as the Old Course. Golf was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland until in 1457, when James II of Scotland banned golf because he felt that young men were playing too much golf instead of practising their archery. The ban was held by the following kings of Scotland until 1502, when King James IV became a golfer himself and decided to remove the ban on golf. The establishment of the present town began around 1140 by Bishop Robert on a L-shaped vill, possibly on the site of the ruined St Andrews Castle. According to a charter of 1170, the new burgh was built to the west of the Cathedral precinct, along Castle Street and possibly as far as what is now known as North Street. This means that the lay-out may have led to the creation of two new streets, North Street and South Street, from the foundations of the new St Andrews Cathedral filling the area inside a two-sided triangle at its apex. The northern boundary of the burgh was the southern side of the Scores, the street between North Street and the sea, with the southern by the Kinness Burn and the western by the West Port. The burgh of St Andrews was first represented at the great council at Scone Palace in Perthshire in 1357. St Leonards School, formerly St Leonards and St Katherines School, is an independent school, founded by the University of St Andrews in the nineteenth century. Dame Louisa Lumsden was appointed the School's first Headmistress in 1877. Louisa was born on 31 December 1840 in Aberdeen. She was a pioneer of female education. Louisa was a student and a tutor in classics at Girton College, Cambridge, England. Headmistress of St Leonards School, Fife, and the first warden of University Hall, University of St Andrews. She is credited with introducing lacrosse to St Leonards School. A fishing harbour is mentioned as early as 1222, and another medieval record dates from 1363; no doubt the estuary here has been used as a natural shelter since the earliest days of navigation. The long pier, was rebuilt in 1656 with stone largely taken from the Castle, and underwent further repairs in 1722. In 1788 half of what was probably a newly built extension of the pier fell down and had to be restored, in 1816 the harbour as a whole was in ruins. The length of the pier also seems to have varied from period to period. The West Port at the West end of St Andrews’ South Street is the best surviving example of a Scottish fortified gate.Market Street and the linking cross streets and wynds emerged as the burgh developed westwards, and by the 16th century, St Andrews had reached the peak of its mediaeval cultural development, and was one of the great historic cities of Europe. To the east of the town centre, lie the ruins of St Andrew's Cathedral. The ruins of St Andrews Castle are situated on a cliff-top to the north of the town

[@NinianReid]

Breathtakingly beautiful, Sandy. What a treat!

[@tourscotland]

Thank you so much Ninian