9 - The Archaeology of Medieval St Andrews

Summary

IN the thirty-four years since the production of the St Andrews burgh survey, pressure from development has ensured that there have been several opportunities for archaeological investigations in the historic town. This chapter on the archaeology of St Andrews thus aims to provide an accessible synthesis of this fieldwork in conjunction with burgh survey material.

St Andrews is a fairly compact and self-contained town. The original settlement was situated between the Kinness Burn and the sea, and slowly, by stages, the town expanded westward. By the sixteenth century, St Andrews had reached the limits defined by ports at South Street, Market Street and North Street. These three streets dominate the town plan. The cathedral and its precinct serve as a focus for the street plan and the three main streets converge on the headland with only Market Street stopping before the cathedral is reached. These can clearly be identified on Geddy's map of c.1580, which also shows the beginnings of suburban development outside the town walls at the west end of South Street. St Andrews has so far largely escaped the attentions of massive redevelopment and as such still retains its medieval streetscape. The considerable number of archaeological projects that have been carried out both within and on the fringes of the medieval town have indicated that the chances of good survival of archaeological deposits and structures are fairly high.

For our purposes, the medieval burgh has been subdivided into six areas and there is a seventh area that includes the site of the Leper hospital. The boundaries between areas are based on street frontages and natural features wherever possible.

Area 1 Golf Place/Links Crescent/City Road/Market Street/Greyfriars Garden/Murray Park/West Sands

Area 2 Murray Park/Greyfriars Garden/Market Street/Church Street/ South Street/South Castle Street/North Castle Street/The Scores/Witch Lake

Area 3 Kennedy Gardens/Kinness Burn/Bridge Street/Alexandra Place/ City Road

Area 4 Market Street/Church Street/Queens Gardens/Kinness Burn/ Bridge Street/Alexandra Place

Area 5 South Street/Queens Gardens/Kinness Burn/Abbey Street

Area 6 North Castle Street/South Castle Street/Abbey Street/Abbey Walk/East Sands

Area 7 Kinness Burn/Woodburn Terrace/Arbitrary line to west of Priestden Place/Arbitrary line to south of Priestden Road/East Sands

The data recovered from St Andrews presents a vivid picture of a small medieval town on the east coast of Scotland. As with many archaeological excavations of a medieval date, in St Andrews ceramics tend to be the most common find.