Cathedral from West

Description Cathedral from West

Date c. 1890

Collection Papers of Erskine Beveridge, antiquarian, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 740651

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of F 2046

Scope and Content St Andrews Cathedral, Fife, from the west St Andrews Cathedral, founded in 1160, was partly completed and in use by 1238. After a major fire in 1378, repair and partial reconstruction continued until 1430. The church was abandoned after the Reformation in 1560, and only the east gable, half the west gable and most of the south wall of the nave now survive. The church was photographed c.1890 by the Scottish photographer, Erskine Beveridge. The west gable (right) dates from the late 13th century. Above the large arched door which leads into the nave is a row of blind arcading, and a pointed-arched window, the sole survivor of two tiers of traceried windows that originally lit the west front. The east gable (left), dating from the 12th century, is almost intact, framed by square corner towers topped by dumpy octagonal spires. Its large round-arched window, the 'great east window' that once lit the sanctuary, was formed during the last stage of reconstruction of the church c.1430. The church, founded by Arnold, Bishop of St Andrews, was conceived on a scale unequalled in Scotland, and is closely comparable to Durham Cathedral in its Romanesque form. The architectural detail is advanced but the plan was conservative - a cruciform structure with a long aisled nave, the longest of any church in Scotland, and an aisled choir and high sanctuary at the east end. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap