From sinner

This ruin is all that remains of one of the two friaries that once stood in St Andrews. The Dominicans or ‘Blackfriars’ (the nickname came from the colour of their robes) were granted land in St Andrews in the 13th century and were an important presence here until the Reformation.

In 1547 the friary was burned by Norman Leslie and was finally destroyed by a Protestant mob in 1559 following a sermon by John Knox. In 1567 the property of the Dominicans was made over to the provost and council of St Andrews by Mary, Queen of Scots.

Much of the friary that survived was incorporated into a school that was demolished in 1833. The present school of Madras College stands on part of the site.

At night, the chapel is lit up by a strange green light. Well, it’s strange in the sense of why would the council opt for green. Anyway, the area is best seen at night not only for the spooky lighting but also because it becomes the favoured meeting place of naughty youngsters from the school. They get up to all sorts of amusing high jinks – watching boy racers, trying to intimidate students, eating chips, throwing the wrappers naughtily on the ground, or just sitting around aimlessly.

Heady stuff indeed. Most of their time is spent imagining being old enough to be underage drinkers in one of the many pubs.