ST ANDREWS EUROWALK

The Harbour and St Regulus

St Andrews harbour provides an opportunity to reflect on the origins of the town and on the development of a key symbol of Scottish national identity. According to legend, the relics of St Andrew were brought to the area from Patras in Greece by St Regulus, also known as St Rule, in the 4th century either by design or due to a shipwreck nearby.

Although St Regulus and his Greek origins may have been the product of medieval monkish imagination – an alternative legend claims that the relics came from Hexham in Northumberland – the cult of St Andrew was well established by the 11th century, when a church housing the sacred relics was constructed on the headland above the present harbour. Its striking rectangular tower, known as St Rule’s, remains in existence. The relics were subsequently transferred to the cathedral and lost in the Reformation but the name of St Regulus is preserved in the town – designating a student hall of residence and a ladies’ golf club.

The diagonal cross on which St Andrew is believed to have been martyred became prominent in Scottish heraldry, giving rise to the blue and white saltire of today. But Scotland is not alone in claiming the patronage of St Andrew. He is similarly recognised in Greece, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere.

Today St Andrews harbour is used mainly for crab and lobster fishing and by a few pleasure craft. In earlier periods, though never a major centre of activity, the harbour was used for exporting agricultural produce and importing coal, timber and other building material. The shipping was mostly coastal but some was conducted with parts of northern Europe. However, not all the maritime trading in the area was entirely legitimate. Valuable commodities, such as spirits and tobacco, were also smuggled in from the nearby continent.

From The Shore turn through the archway into The Pends. Follow the road uphill and, on reaching the far end of the ruined gateway, emerge through a narrow opening on the left into South Street. (Entry to the Cathedral Museum and St Rule’s tower, 100ft or 33 metres high with 156 steps, is via the visitor centre in the cathedral grounds to the right.)

BACK TO MAP NEXT