Martyrs' Monument
The Martyrs' Monument is the tall sandstone obelisk on the clifftop at the west end of the Scores. Put up in 1842–43, it remembers the Protestant martyrs burned in St Andrews during the 16th century, and it makes a fine viewpoint over the Old Course and the sea.
Photos
Giovanni Carini
Why it is here
St Andrews was the seat of Scotland's medieval church, and in the decades before the Reformation several Protestant reformers were burned at the stake in the town. The monument was raised in their memory in 1842–43 to a design by the architect William Nixon. It is a listed building, and its outline is a squat, Georgian-style obelisk, about 10 metres high, with carved swags and pediments around the base.
Saved from the weather
Exposed on the cliff edge, the stone eroded badly and the monument had to be fenced off for several years after masonry began to fall. A privately funded restoration in 2012–13 repaired and cleaned the stonework and added interpretation panels, and it was rededicated in May 2013 in a ceremony that included both Protestant and Catholic clergy.
Using it on a walk
The monument sits where the Scores meets the Old Course, so it is a natural pause on a loop between the castle and West Sands. Look west for the R&A clubhouse and the first and eighteenth holes, or north over the bay. The aquarium is just below the cliff, and the R&A World Golf Museum is a short stroll away.
Highlights
- Sandstone obelisk built 1842–43
- Designed by architect William Nixon
- Restored and rededicated in 2013
- Clifftop views over the Old Course and West Sands
Good to know
- Free to view at any time; it stands on an open clifftop path.
- The Scores is a level, paved walk, but the clifftop is exposed in bad weather.
Frequently asked questions
Nearby
Sources: britishlistedbuildings.co.uk · fife.gov.uk · historicenvironment.scot