A view of St Rules tower in the cathederal grounds, with tensmuir forest in the background, which is over the Eden Estuary.

St Rules Tower in the Cathederal Grounds

The Cathedral of St Andrew in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland was the seat of the Bishops (later Archbishops) of St Andrews from its foundation in 1158 until it fell into disuse after the Reformation. It is currently a ruined monument in the custody of Historic Scotland. The ruins indicate the great size of the building at 350 feet (over 100 metres) long.
The cathedral was founded to supply more accommodation than the older church of St. Regulus (St. Rule) afforded. This older church, was located on what became the cathedral grounds, had been built in the Romanesque style and probably dated from the 10th century. Today, there remains the square tower, 33 metres (108 feet) high, and the quire, of very diminutive proportions. On a plan of the town from about 1530, a chancel appears, and seals affixed to the city and college charters bear representations of other buildings attached.

Work began on the new cathedral in 1158 and continued for over a century. The west end was blown down during a storm and rebuilt between 1272 and 1279. It was dedicated on 5 July 1318, in a ceremony before King Robert I . When intact it had, besides a central tower, six turrets; of these two at the east and one of the two at the western extremity (rising to a height of 30 metres (100 feet)) remain.

A fire partly destroyed the building in 1378, and the restoration and further embellishment were completed in 1440. It was stripped of its altars and images in 1559.

Greyfriar (Franciscan) and Blackfriar (Dominican) monks had properties in the town by the late 15th century and possibly as late as 1518.