St Andrews Cathedral’s museum is housed in three rooms on either side of the visitor reception. The rooms include two restored buildings of the medieval priory: the warming house and the refectory undercroft. The museum houses a collection of artefacts that have been discovered around the cathedral over the past 200 years. This includes fragments of capitals, the decorative tops of pillars, a piscina (where priests would wash their hands with holy water), a canopy which once covered a statue and gargoyles, as well as seals and grave stones.
In the 1100s, the nature of Christian worship at St Andrew began to change. A community of Augustinian canons was established, and there was a large increase in the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine of St Andrew. A number of monuments within the museum date from this time, as St Andrews became one of the most important pilgrimage centres in the Christian world.
Opening hours from April to September: 9:30 to 17:30. Opening hours from October to March: 10:00 to 16:00. Entrance is £5.00 for adults for the cathedral only (museum and St Rule’s Tower, the grounds are free), or £9.00 per adult for the cathedral and castle.
SOURCES:
- Information signs at St Andrews Cathedral
- Official Souvenir Guide: St Andrews Castle, Cathedral and Historic Burgh
- https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/st-andrews-cathedral/prices-and-opening-times/
