 Hillpark House
Elegant sandstone villa with large walled garden. Many original features including rare Victorian canopy shower/bath. Ideally situated for golf in St Andrews and the Eden Estuary. Warm highland hospitality. Locate on Map of Fife
Commercial life in medieval St Andrews was dominated by the Trade Guilds. St Andrews had the famous seven trades: Bakers, Fleshers, Shoemakers, Smiths, Tailors, Weavers, and Wrights. They set the quality standards to be expected and their terms of employment etc.
The present Lammas Fair on the 2nd Monday and Tuesday in August is the only relic remaining of five great fairs held annually in medieval times. It was once a hiring fair and an occasion of religious observance. It has now degenerated into a gigantic town centre fun fair.
The ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots visited St Andrews five times between 1561 and 1565, accompanied wherever she went by crowds of people. She is said to have stayed in St Andrews in 1562 in a house on the southern side of South Street, now used as a library by St Leonard's School. Queen Mary's House is a fine example of a 16th century Scottish town house.
St Andrews' change from a medieval city to a modern town was accelerated by the ruthless Major Playfair who became Provost Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair (1786 - 1861) and who dominated local politics in his time. In his work to modernise St Andrews he encountered much vested interest and lethargy which he defeated with a mixture diplomacy and bullying. Equally important to Playfair's architectural and still visible changes was the work of Dr John Adamson. Adamson was Medical Officer of Health at about the same period and he completely overhauled the Burgh's sanitory provisions.
In the 20th century St Andrews has seen another expansion as have most towns in Scotland. St Andrews can only expand in two directions. To the south the first expansion this century was essentially of social, rented housing owned and managed by the local authority. To the west the more recent expansion has been of owner occupied housing.
In medieval times the tourists came for religious reasons. In modern times the tourists come for other reasons. They come to see the magnificent legacy left by the Culdees, by the Archbishops, by the Kings and Queens and by the town planners such as Playfair. They come to see the gracious old buildings, quadrangles and chapels of Scotland's oldest university. They also come because St Andrews is the Home of Golf with famous and challenging courses for people to play on, ranging from the celebrated Old Course to the most recent Duke's Course.
This brief history of St Andrews may be amplified by reading 'The Life and Times of St Andrews' by Raymond Lamont-Brown (ISBN 0 85976 236 X) or many of the other reference works quoted therein. | 