St Andrews in Detail

By Brynn Gordon

As St Andrews students, our lives are dictated by routines set and followed for us as far back as 1413. While we live and study in a town with such significant historic landmarks as the Cathedral ruins, built in the 12th century and formerly the home of Scottish spiritual life, or the impressive blend or recent and medieval styles represented in Sallies Quad, how frequently do we pay attention to the more unassuming objects of artistic and historical significance that we move past daily? A few notable examples can be found below.

The Blue Stane

Blue Stane, Date Unknown, Dolerite, St Andrews. Author’s Picture.

Located outside of Molly Malones, the “Blue Stane” is an unassuming lump of dolerite, featuring natural grooves and ridges, almost as if it had been well-handled and worn over time. This appearance corresponds to the stone’s fabled history, when a giant standing in rural Fife aimed to throw it at St Regulus’ (also known as St. Rule, deliverer of St Andrew’s relics to Scotland) cell and fell short. This story echoes that of a similar Blue Stane found in Crail, where the throw is attributed to the Devil’s attempt to destroy the kirk from the Isle of May.

Largely overlooked behind a railing, the stone played a visible role in the public life of pre- and early-Christian St Andrews. While it’s original function is lost to us, the small public rituals that persisted over time included respectfully greeting it with a pat or a bow, or using it to grant luck in battle or romance. Perhaps this stone is worth a visit as exam season approaches.

Cat and Mouse

If you walk to the far end of Market Street, you might notice the terracotta cat and mouse statues on the roof of a house. These are frequently admired by passersby for the whimsy they add to the street, but what is their history?

These small decorative statues, permanently frozen in the moments before an ambush, are called finials. These decorations highlight the top of a house, monument, or furniture item, and are frequently seen on thatched houses. Finials as a design feature were used both in Greco-Roman, Gothic, and traditional Asian architecture in the Malaysian “mustaka” or Hindu “kalash”.

The image above appears to go against the metallic, decorative finial styles popular in the 19th and 20th Centuries, adopting instead the softer approach of animal finials seen frequently on thatched houses.

Statuary and Reliefs

Anonymous, John Gillespie Sundial, C.1753, Stone, St Andrews. Author’s Photo.

The John Gillespie sundial presents an amusing, smiling face to the far end of South Street in its simultaneous appearance of a stout man with a wig and the sun in the sky.

According to Dennis Cowan’s research on the “sundial trail” of St Andrews, prominent figure of the Scottish Enlightenment Professor Adam Ferguson resided in this house after retiring from teaching at the University of Edinburgh. Ferguson was an associate and contemporary of Robert Burns, who exchanged letters with a Captain John Gillespie in the 1790s and may have been a mutual acquaintance of the pair. This link is tenuous given the discrepancy in date, although there was a John Gillespie from Kirkton in the Boarders who was married in 1753 (antiques can travel quite extensively). The unclear origin and purpose of the John Gillespie sundial certainly do not diminish it’s intriguing appearance or ability to tell the time; the photo above was taken at exactly 9:05 in the morning.

Anonymous, Stone Relief, Date unknown. St Andrews. Author’s Picture.

In worse condition and with fewer historical references, is the relief carving a man at work or reaching over a pot that can be seen when approaching the Byre via South Street. It’s weathered appearance and unusual

This article may be taken as a personal best-of list or could be fashioned into a short walking tour around town, but primarily it hopes to inspire a closer observation of the beautiful minutia and details our town has to offer, even in insignificant places.

If you would like to learn more about the small historic details of our town, look out for events and announcements from the St Andrews Preservation Trust, who’s museum is currently undergoing major renovation.

Bibliography

Cowan, Dennis . “The St. Andrews Sundial Trail by Dennis Cowan.” Accessed March 12, 2025. http://sundials.co/~standrews.pdf.

Cupolas Direct. “ContentKeeper Content Filtering.” Cupolasdirect.com, 2025. https://cupolasdirect.com/blog/post/the-history-of-finials/?srsltid=AfmBOoof-8G2tpJN2p3Hj79f3uoA6zckF57yDoAw_yvJlne2nQ9MhefU.

National Library of Scotland, Letters of Robert Burns., 1787-c. 1793., Robert Burns. MS.23638, folios 37-52. c. eighteenth-century MS.23638. Archives and Manuscripts.

Oldfield, Tommy. “The Quad | University of St Andrews News.” St-andrews.ac.uk, 2015. https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/long-reads/the-quad/.

Visitscotland.com. “St Andrews Cathedral,” 2020. https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/st-andrews-cathedral-p248231.

Wood, Walter. The East Neuk of Fife: Its History and Antiquities [&C.]. Edinbrugh: D. Douglas, 1862.