History of the University of St Andrews

The University of St Andrews owed its origin to a society formed in 1410 by Laurence of Lindores, Abbot of Scone, Richard de Cornell, Archdeacon of Lothian, and the later Bishop of Dunblane, William Stephenson, among others.

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.

At its foundation in 1538 St Mary's was intended to be a College for instruction in Divinity, Law, and Medicine, as well as in Arts, but its career on this extensive scale was short-lived.

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.

Agnes Forbes Blackadder became the first woman to graduate from St Andrews on the same level as men of the time in October 1895, gaining her MA, going on to receive an MD from Glasgow University and becoming an eminent dermatologist in London.

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.

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.

The University retains ownership of the tiny St Leonards college chapel, and candle-lit services take place weekly during term-time.