Winter Talk 2: Mount Melville Guest Speaker David Scott This talk will bring to life two historical figures associated with Mount Melville and who left their mark on St Andrews. George John Whyte Melville - ‘the forgotten son of St Andrews’, who was a soldier, a highly popular prolific novelist and accomplished sportsman in the 19th century andContinue reading "Winter Talk 2: Mount Melville"
Book Now Winter Talk 1 Guest Speaker Chloe Milne Fisher & Donaldson: 106 Years in the Baking Chloe Milne, one of the fifth generation of local family bakery Fisher &Continue reading "Winter Talk 1: Fisher & Donaldson: 106 Years in the Baking"
Book Now D'Arcy Thompson - Pioneer of Life Sciences Guest Speaker Matthew Jarron The St Andrews Preservation Trust is delighted to welcome you to our Annual Lecture, to hear our former curator Matthew Jarron speak on "D'Arcy Thompson - Pioneer of Life Sciences". We welcome speakers from across St Andrews, Dundee and Fife to share their work orContinue reading "Annual Lecture – D’Arcy Thompson"
Book Ticket Now Gibson House - A Beautiful Bequest Guest Speaker Ian DavidsonOverlooking the West Port stands a neo Jacobean mansion, but appearances deceive. It was intended as a hospital for the people of the town. A beautiful bequest from an almost forgotten civic hero who gifted land and money to provide for the infirm. InContinue reading "Autumn Talk 3: Gibson House – A Beautiful Bequest"
Book Ticket Now Newport-on-Tay: its early development and links with Dundee Guest Speaker Mairi ShielsFor a small village on the south shore of the River Tay, Newport does have rather a lot of history! This talk will set the scene by looking at the small settlement known as Seamills which was the forerunner of the villageContinue reading "Autumn Talk 2: Newport-on-Tay; its early development and links with Dundee"
The Lammas Market Tuesday 19th August 2025, 2.30pm at the St Andrews Bowling Club. The St Andrews Preservation Trust is delighted to announce the return of our Autumn Talks series, following the success of our pilot last year. This was a great addition to our Winter Talks series started in 2021. We welcome speakers from across StContinue reading "Autumn Talk 1: The Lammas Market"
Ambitious regeneration project with community benefits:
It’s our privilege to welcome Fiona Young, the Flax Mill Activities Coordinator responsible for engaging the local community in the Flax Mill renovation. She will speak about the history and development of the Silverburn Park and Flax Mill. We will find out about the fascinating history of flax making, see some flax and small tools and a quick demonstration of how to take flax straw to fibre. This is an important community redevelopment project and we are looking forward to hearing about the tears and toil involved in making it happen.
Stay tuned for more info!
It’s our privilege to welcome on Tuesday 28 January 2025, Fife’s own Duncan Annand, Public Artist and Sculptor, and Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors, to speak about the making of his bronze statue of “Old Tom Morris”, who needs no introduction. This new work stands in Bow Butts on Golf Place, St Andrews, and was unveiled in October 2024. He will bring an artist’s viewpoint to history and speak about how his quietly engaging work contributes to a sense of place. With his humble view of his role in the creation of his work, he sees himself as “standing on the shoulders of giants”. He will reveal the fascinating journey of making a bronze sculpture, and how he brings “vitality, balance, gravity and irony” to his figurative work. He will show some of the other work he has been commissioned to make and share what he has learned about his subjects in the process. Part tribute to the man who was Old Tom Morris, as well as the other great characters of Scottish History that he has had the honour to portray, his talk will be sprinkled with some humorous anecdotes, speculation on their lives, and possibly even opinions about golf.
Annual Lecture - What Makes St Andrews Special This year, Nigel Edward Morecroft will talk about his book St Andrews: Camelot of Golf. Partly a social history, he will discuss the role of artisans, women and students in shaping modern St Andrews and will explain that for a small town, St Andrews possessed unusually variedContinue reading "Annual Lecture – What Makes St Andrews Special"