Of the once great Cathedral of St. Andrew, the Primatical See of Scotland, few traces are left. Its consecration in the time of Robert Bruce was marked by unparalleled pomp and circumstance. All the most distinguished in Church and State were present, no less than seven bishops and fifteen abbots, the king and well-nigh all the flower of his nobility. It was originally founded by Bishop Arnold (1159-1162). Its plan was cruciform, and was 355 feet in length, and the nave 200 feet, and there was a Lady Chapel at the east end. It had a grand central tower, and six turrets, of which three remain. A fire partly destroyed it in 1378, but it was restored and embellished, and finished in 1440. In 1559 John Knox preached a fiery sermon in the town church, which led the magistrates and inhabitants of the city to plunder the Cathedral and strip it of its altars and ornaments. The whole church was ransacked and left to fall into ruin. Soon the central tower fell, and carried with it the north wall; and since then the church has been used as a quarry. The ruins are picturesque in their decay. All |