St Andrews
Castle is less well known than the Cathedral, but it is every bit as interesting. From the
visitor centre one can enter either by a lesser gateway, or else over the bridge and
through the Renaissance gateway of 1555-58. In vaults to either side are the false starts
to a counter mine of 1546-47, which is perhaps the most notable feature of the ruins. It
is possible to see in the stonework where the outer wall was strengthened in 1539-71. The
courtyard contains a well. The north east tower has two vaults on the ground floor, the
base of a bread oven and a water gate. The sea tower contains a bottle dungeon 24ft deep,
located in a vault. The gate tower has traces of an older gateway (which had a drawbridge)
of Bishop Water Traill, 1385-1401. The east range was mostly destroyed by sea erosion, and
collapsed in 1801.
The mine and counter-mine of
1546-47 is one of the most unique features of the castle. The Earl of Arran’s men
were digging a tunnel into the castle and those within dug outwards to try and stop them.
They could only go by sounds passing through the rocks, and thus made a few false starts.
Nevertheless the two tunnels did meet. Blocked up for many years, they were only
rediscovered in 1879 and today visitors can make their way along the passages.
A stronghold of the bishops of
St Andrews Cathedral, the castle passed to the Crown in 1587. By the late 17th
century it was in ruins, and the stone was used to rebuild the harbour. |
