About St Andrews and about

Cupar, Scotland: Innes, 1973. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 5.5" X 8.75. h/b 182 pages, condition is very good. A owners name label to the DJ and flyleaf. Here is an appraisal right up to the minute of Scotland's most historic burgh, written by one who knows and loves it, on the eve of the disappearance of small burghs in Scotland. St. Andrews has occupied a key position in Scottish history ; it is the site of some of Britain's oldest and finest buildings and ruins ; the realm's only true university city, and the traditional Home of Golf. Because of these factors it poses special problems for the new Regional authorities. These include the administration of the famous Old Course, by far the oldest golf course in history, and planning for the future preservation of a unique ancient city. Shrouded in legend, and ghost-ridden, St. Andrews is a place of unsolved mysteries some of which are examined, notably the fate of the ' miraculous ' relics that first brought it fame. One mystery that is solved to the satisfaction of millions of golfers is why St. Andrews is the birthplace of golf. Is this little city, once the scottish hotbed of religious fanaticism, asks the author, still in the inner circles of its university a centre of bigotry, as a former Rector claimed ? How will the university's greatest expansion in its 550 years' existence affect the traditional Town' and Gown relationships ? Is there a danger of enveloping the ancient little town and ruining its special character ? These are some of the issues raised by James K. Robertson in his narration of the gripping story of Scotland's most historic burgh and university, spanning more than a thousand years. St. Andrews, born of the Church : scene of horrifying deeds committed in the name of religion. A prosperous city plunged into obscurity to be raised to a wider, international fame by the bizarre agency of a local Scottish pastime. This ' little city, old and grey', is also the centre of a cluster of charming old-world villages-in the tourist area of Fife, known as the 'East Neuk'. They are an extension of the St. Andrews scene, with their own fascinating history and picturesque beauty. They are included, as they must be, in any realistic portrait of St. Andrews and its environment.