History of the University of St Andrews

The history of the University of St Andrews began with its foundation in 1410 when a charter of incorporation was bestowed upon the Augustinian priory of St Andrews Cathedral. The University grew in size quite rapidly; St. Salvator's College was established in 1450, St. Leonard's College in 1511 and St Mary's College in 1537. Some of the college buildings in use today date from this period as does St Salvator's Chapel. At this time much of the teaching was of a religious nature and was conducted by clerics associated with the cathedral.

Foundation

The University of St Andrews owed its origin to a society formed in 1410 by Laurence of Lindores, abbot of Scone, Richard Cornwall, archdeacon of Lothian, William Stephenson, afterwards bishop of Dunblane, and a few others. Bishop Henry Wardlaw (died 1440) issued a charter in 1411 and attracted the most learned men in Scotland as professors. In 1413 Avignon Pope Benedict XIII issued six bulls confirming the charter and constituting the society a university. Lectures took place in various parts of the town until 1430, when Wardlaw allowed the lecturers the use of a building called the "Paedagogium", or St Johns, granted by Robert of Montrose to that end. Bishop Kennedy founded and richly endowed St Salvator's College in 1450, the foundation being confirmed by Pope Martin V; seven years later it gained the right to confer degrees in theology and philosophy, and by the end of the century was regarded as a constituent part of the university.

In 1512 Prior John Hepburn and Archbishop Alexander Stewart founded St Leonard's College on the site of the buildings which at one time served as a hospital for pilgrims. In the same year Archbishop Stewart nominally changed the original "Paedagogium" into a college and annexed to it the parish church of St Michael of Tarvet; but its actual erection into a college did not take place until 1537, when it was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Assumption. The outline of the ancient structure has survived, but various restorations have much altered its general character. It forms two sides of a quadrangle, the library and principal's residence standing on the north and the lecture rooms and the old dining-hall to the west.

Early history

During the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries the university underwent many changes. The distinctive red gowns which are still in use today were adopted in 1672 and towards the end of the seventeenth century a move to Perth was considered and eventually rejected. In 1747 St Salvator's and St Leonards's were merged to form the United College of St. Salvator and St. Leonard. During the nineteenth century student numbers were very low and the university having to close was a very real possibility. In the 1870s there were fewer than 150 students, and perhaps partly in response to this the university was, in 1897, strengthened by the foundation of University College in Dundee which became a centre of medical and scientific excellence.

University of Dundee

The affiliation of Dundee ended in 1967 when the college, which had been renamed Queen's College, became a separate and independent institution as the University of Dundee - the loss of teaching facilities for clinical medicine caused the University's Bute Medical School to form a new attachment with the University of Manchester. Today the university is growing rapidly and in relatively sound financial health, perhaps helped by what some students have argued are one of the highest hall of residence rents in the UK outside of London, though the University argues that the residential system does not produce a surplus.

Alongside the loss of the main body of the medical school, the independence of Queen's College also resulted in a number of other 'prestige subjects' such as Law and Dentistry no longer being taught at the University

University Library

The University library, which now includes the older college libraries, was founded in 1612 at the institution of King James VI, who donated 228 works for that purpose. It was situated in a purpose-built building on the site of the old Pedagogy, later remodelled in 1764, and improved in 1829 and 1889 - 1890. The lower hall in the older part of the building was used for University meetings, examinations and academical ceremonials, and at times as a provincial meeting-place for the Scots Parliament. When the constitution of the colleges was remodelled in 1579 St Mary's was set apart for theology; and in 1747 the colleges of St Salvator and St Leonard were formed into the United College. The co-educational St Leonards School now occupies the buildings of the former St. Leonard's College.

More recent developments

(1823 - 1886), that most of the modern improvements were introduced.

The University retains ownership of the tiny St Leonards college chapel, and candle-lit services take place weekly during term-time. The United College occupies the site of St Salvator's College, but the old buildings have been removed, with the exception of the college chapel, now used as the university chapel, a fine Gothic structure, containing an elaborate tomb of Bishop Kennedy and John Knox's pulpit; the entrance gateway, with a square clock tower (152 feet high); and the janitor's house with some classrooms above.

ee also

* Governance of the University of St Andrews
* General Council of the University of St Andrews