St Andrews

Sister cities

• Loches

History

The first inhabitants who settled on the estuary fringes of the rivers Tay and Eden during the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) came from the plains in Northern Europe between 10,000 and 5,000 BCE. This was followed by the nomadic people who settled around the modern town around 4,500 BCE as farmers clearing the area of woodland and building monuments. In AD 877, King Causantín mac Cináeda (Constantine I) built a new church for the Culdees at St Andrews. In AD 906, the town became the seat of the bishop of Alba, with the boundaries of the see being extended to include land between the River Forth and River Tweed. In 943 Constantine II abdicated and took the position of abbot of the monastery of St Andrews. Construction of the present town began around 1140 under Bishop Robert, on an L-shaped hill, 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. The burgh of St Andrews was first represented at the great council at Scone Palace in 1357. Recognised as the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, the town now had vast economic and political influence within Europe as a cosmopolitan town. The Scottish Parliament met in the town in 1304, when King Edward I, in his capacity as overlord of Scotland, came to be received by Bishop William de Lamberton. As many as 130 landowners turned up to witness the event ranging from Sir John of Cambo to Sir William Murray of Fort. In 1559, the town fell into decay after the violent Scottish Reformation and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms losing the status of ecclesiastical capital of Scotland. Even the University of St Andrews was considering relocating to Perth around…