St Andrew's Cathedral

The construction of St Andrew's Cathedral began in 1158.  The Cathedral took over a century to build, and was the largest Cathedral in Scotland.  St Andrew's Cathedral was constructed on the site of St Regulus (St Rule) Church, which was built to house the relics of St Andrew in 1070, and the even older religious site on the seaward side of the Cathedral, Church of St Mary of the Rock.

Originally created to help accommodate more people than the older Church of St Regulus (St Rule) on the site, St Andrew's Cathedral was consecrated during the reign of Robert I, King of The Scots, on July 5th, 1318, by Bishop Wardlaw. 

The Cathedral served a community of Augustinian Canons.  It was used for over three hundred years by the Augustines.  The west end of the Cathedral was destroyed in a storm and then subsequently repaired in the years between 1272 and 1279.  When intact, the Cathedral comprised of six turrets and a central tower. 

In 1378, the Cathedral was damaged by a fire.  Restoration and further embellishment of the structure were eventually completed in 1440.

In 1559, during the Scottish Reformation, a time when Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a mostly Calvanist kirk with a strong Presbyterian influence, the Cathedral was ransacked.  The building was stripped of its altars and images.  By 1561, it had been totally abandoned and left to ruin. 

At the end of the 16th century, the central tower collapsed, bringing with it the north wall of the Cathedral.  Large parts of the ruined Cathedral were taken away to be used as building materials at other sites.  Nothing was done to preserve what was left of the Cathedral until 1826.

Nowadays, a visitor to St Andrew's Cathedral can see the west door, sections of the south aisle, the east wall, and a single tower of the west front.  The Cathedral has a huge perimeter wall, and the tower of St Regulus (St Rule) still stands.  A few turrets, gables and sections of the chapter house remain, as does the ancient graveyard.   

St Andrew's Cathedral is supposedly haunted by several different spectres.  A ghostly monk is said to wander around the magnificent tower of St Regulus (St Rules) Church.  He has been known to offer assistance to tourists.  On one occasion, a visitor to the ruins claims to have been asked by the ghostly monk if he required assistance with the stairs of the tower.  The monk is believed to be a former Prior of St Andrew's, Robert de Montrose, who climbed the tower stairs to enjoy the view at night.  He apparently was forced to discipline one of his charges.  This disgruntled monk supposedly followed Montrose up the tower and stabbed him in the back with a dagger.  He then hurled Montrose to the ground.  The murdered Prior has also been seen falling from the tower by tourists in a macabre re-enactment of his death.  

Another famous ghost is the veiled nun.  Legend has it that she was very beautiful and rich, and had turned down many suitors.  When one suitor caught her attentions, she agreed to marry him.  As wedding preparations were being made, the woman changed her mind.  She decided, instead, to enter a nunnery.  When her fiancé heard the news he rushed to St Andrew's.  When he arrived, however, she had already cut off her eyelids, slit both her nostrils, cut off her lips and branded both her cheeks.  Horrified, her fiancé returned home and committed suicide.  The young woman died a few weeks later.  Since this event, people have claimed to see the veiled figure.

A woman in white has been observed wandering the grounds of the Cathedral.  She walks amongst the ancient graves and the tower.  The sightings of this female apparition were recorded as early as the 1800s.  She seemingly has long black hair, and some people have reported seeing her carrying a book in her hand.  In the 1860s, a group of stonemasons working on the Cathedral reportedly broke a wall and saw into a crypt.  Amongst the bodies within the crypt was a well-preserved female with long dark hair, wearing a white dress and white gloves.

I have fond memories of St Andrew's Cathedral.  It was a peaceful place, with ancient graves and a looming tower.  You walk quietly amongst the ruins of gothic gables and crumbling walls, all the while aware that it was once an ancient place of something mystical and profound.

Stonehenge

Located 90 miles west of London and 8 miles north of Salisbury, Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire.  Built by a culture that left no written record of its construction, there are Mesolithic potholes dating back 8000 years.  Believed to have been built in 3500BC, the construction of Stonehenge occurred in three phases over around 1500 years.  Its name comes from the Saxons and means Hanging Stones.

Stonehenge was constructed out of two distinct stone types: bluestones, representing foreign stones of which there are about twenty at Stonehenge, and Sarsen, sandstone rocks found on the Salisbury Plain.

Originally, Stonehenge was a circular bank and ditch that contained what became known as Aubrey Holes.  These holes were identified by John Aubrey, an antiquarian, natural philosopher and pioneer archaeologist, in the 17th Century.  In this initial stage of construction, it is believed that the first of the standing stones were erected to stand on slightly sloping grassland.

Two hundred or more years later, the second phase of construction at Stonehenge commenced.  During this time, bluestones were transported from Wales.  They were erected and then taken down again sometime during this period.  The giant stones that dominate the site now were put in place.  Some of these stones weigh 26 tons and stand 18ft high with a width of 7ft.  The trilithons, which are three stones fitted together, were erected.  The stones were wrought to make them slightly convex and then slotted into place with lintels.  Finally, they were hinged together using ball and socket joints.

About 1500 years after construction began on Stonehenge, the bluestones were re-erected in the circle and a large green sandstone block, known as the Altar Stone, was placed in front of one of the trilithons.

There has been much conjecture over the purpose of Stonehenge.  Medieval authors, including the bard Geoffrey of Monmouth, referred to the monument as the "Giants Dance", and believed it was constructed by Aurelius Ambrosius, King of the Britons.  It was said that he wanted to build a memorial where 460 British consuls and princes lay buried after being massacred.  Aurelius Ambrosius sought the counsel of the wizard Merlin, who advised him to get the Giants Dance from an Irish mountain called Kilarus.  Aurelius sent his brother, Uther Pendragon, and an army.  They got the monument, and it was believed that Merlin transported the massive structure. 

In the 17th century, Inigo Jones, an English architect, suggested that Stonehenge was most likely a Roman Temple.  By the 18th century, antiquarian, cleric and Freemason, William Stukeley, concluded it was a Temple of British Druids. 

The stones of Stonehenge are lithophones, meaning they are ringing rocks.  These were believed to have healing properties.  Stonehenge may have been a place of healing.  There have been suggestions that Stonehenge may have been like Lourdes, something further supported by the high number of burials and trauma deformities in the area.  It's also been suggested that it may have been an ancient calendar to track the movement of the sun and moon and the changing seasons. 

In 2013, a team of archaeologists excavated 50,000 cremated bones from 63 individuals buried at Stonehenge.  The bodies belonged to men, women and children equally.  Cremation burials were also found in the Aubrey Holes.  Stonehenge, at one time, was used to hold funerary rights. 

Stonehenge has many myths and legends surrounding it.  In recent years, two tourists have accidentally filmed 'anomalies' that look like spirits around the mystical stones. 

http://youtu.be/4qGIEWJeQVI

http://youtu.be/j0P2Ih5eiuE

There have been sightings of unexplained lights above Stonehenge, as well as light anomalies between the stones. 

When I visited Stonehenge, I could understand why these standing stones have evoked so much conjecture and mystery.  The standing stones are cordoned off and, as a tourist, you walk around the outside of the structure.  There is definitely a feeling that something ancient and mystical exists at Stonehenge.