St Andrews Castle

St. Andrews Castle
©2010 Gazetteer for Scotland

Situated on a cliff edge looking out over the North Sea, St Andrews Castle was built c.1200 as a defensive residence for the bishops and, later, archbishops of St Andrews.

During 400 years of turbulent history it was destroyed and rebuilt several times but after the Reformation it declined in importance and much of its stonework was used to rebuild the harbour wall of St Andrews. Interesting features include a bottle dungeon of 1386 and a mine and countermine dating from the siege of 1546-7.

There is a visitor centre adjacent to the castle which is open to the public throughout the year.

Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry