‘Time travel’ recreates John Knox parish
● Experts virtually reconstruct church ‘that was key to the reformation’
A church once regarded as the most important parish in Scotland has been virtually reconstructed by experts, giving a glimpse into how it looked more than 500 years ago.
Dating back to the 12th century, Holy Trinity Church in St Andrews, Fife, played a central role in the Scottish Reformation.
It was where the famous Protestant leader John Knox first preached in public during the siege of St Andrews Castle in 1547.
Now researchers at the University of St Andrews have created a virtual reconstruction of how the original church looked just before the Reformation of 1559.
Although the church’s origins go back to at least the 12th century, the Gothic building was constructed on its existing location on South Street in 1410.
It has been redesigned over the centuries, including being stripped of its images and altars during the Reformation.
The majority of the building was demolished in 1907 to be replaced by the existing Gothic structure.
And apart from the medieval tower, little remains of its original design.
The team of academics combined historical research with computer technology to create a virtual reconstruction of the church – one of the most important churches in the Middle Ages.
Dr Bess Rhodes, from the Schools of History and Computer Science, worked with doctoral students from the School of History, Peryn Westerhof Nyman and Chelsea Reutcke.
Using historical documents and images, they revealed the church’s 16th-century appearance.
The reconstruction was then created by Sarah Kennedy of the School of Computer Science.
Dr Rhodes said: “Holy Trinity is central to Scottish history.
“Events here in the summer of 1559 transformed the religious future of this country.
“The Reformers’ success was by no means assured and the decision of the congregation of Holy Trinity to back John Knox and the Protestant cause was a key turning point in Scotland’s Reformation.
“Yet Holy Trinity also has this remarkable Catholic past, which subsequent generations sought to – quite literally – whitewash away. This project has tried to recapture the character of Holy Trinity as it was on the eve of the momentous changes of 1559.”
From its origins as a Celtic monastic centre, St Andrews grew to become the religious capital of medieval Scotland.
By the late Middle Ages, the Fife community was home to Scotland’s largest cathedral and was a centre of Catholic pilgrimage, learning and power.
Dr Alan Miller, who helped lead the digital reconstruction, described the creation as a “virtual time travel exhibit” that would help foster understanding of the past.