Complete Guide To Elgin Cathedral – Rise & Ruin Of The Lantern Of The North

If you’re a fan of atmospheric ruins that shout out stories from centuries in the past, you’re going to love Elgin Cathedral.

Today, it’s a roofless, weathered ruin, but it’s still phenomenally impressive. These towering walls once echoed with music, power, scandal, and prayer. Nicknamed the Lantern of the North, Elgin Cathedral was the pride of medieval Moray and it’s still an inspiring icon of the town.

This guide to Elgin Cathedral will help you make the most of your visit there, unlocking stories hidden in the stones. From flames set by ravenous wolves to babies raised in abandoned sinks – there’s a lot to uncover!

If you’re already planning to visit Elgin Cathedral, make sure to explore some of the other fascinating places around Moray. It’s a region that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should!

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Where Is Elgin Cathedral

Elgin Cathedral stands on the edge of the River Lossie, just a short walk from the centre of Elgin in the region of Moray. It’s a long way from Scotland’s Central Belt – around 3-4 hours from either Edinburgh or Glasgow by car. Fortunately, there’s a good sized train station and plenty of buses, so very accessible by public transport if that’s how you travel.

If you happen to be spending time in the City of Inverness, then you can make it to Elgin in around an hour. Including this in a day trip exploring the Moray coast and Speyside whisky country would be perfect! Alternatively, you could head west and do some castle hunting in Aberdeenshire!

Here’s the best place to find car hire in Scotland and if you’re nervous about driving here, this article might help you!

How To Visit Elgin Cathedral

Elgin Cathedral is managed by Historic Environment Scotland. The visitor centre is small but packed with information, and there are plenty of interpretation panels around the grounds to help bring the ruins to life.

You’ll want at least an hour to explore or two if you like to read every sign, peer into every tomb, and climb the tower. That’s highly recommended, if your able, with spectacular views right across Elgin!

Opening hours and entry fees vary by season, so check the website before visiting, but it’s usually open 7 days a week. If you’re looking for other historic stories nearby, don’t forget to grab a copy of The Scotland’s Stories Book beforehand!

Early History of Moray Cathedrals

While Elgin Cathedral just celebrated its 800th birthday, the main church in Moray hasn’t always been here! The Bishopric was created in the early 1100s and each bishop chose a different church to be their cathedral. It rotated around Birnie, Kinneddar and Spynie, before Brice de Douglas decided to make things more permanent.

The Pope allowed Brice to make Spynie the official cathedral in Moray and you can still visit the ruins of his Palace there, a short distance north of Elgin. However, it wasn’t long until the Bishop realised his mistake. Too far removed from the main burgh with its royal connections and armed guard, he petitioned to move the cathedral to Elgin.

It wasn’t until 1224, during the time of Bishop Andrew de Moray, that work began. It took decades for Elgin Cathedral to take shape, a vast, ambitious project in one of Scotland’s richest regions. This was to be the Lantern of the North, illuminating the minds and souls of northern Scotland.

There were plenty of stumbling blocks along the way, with devastating fires causing untold damage. However, the bishops used these disasters as an opportunity to extend things even further. Bishop Alexander Bur called it “The glory of the Kingdom!”

However, Elgin Cathedral’s darkest chapter was on the horizon.

The Wolf of Badenoch

If there’s one name you’ll hear whispered around Elgin Cathedral, it’s the Wolf of Badenoch. His real name was Alexander Stewart and he was a younger son of King Robert II. On his fathers ascension to the throne, this prince gained considerable power in the North East of Scotland.

As Justiciar of the North, he was in charge of dispensing justice and keeping the peace in the name of the crown. He did so with the help of hired bands of warriors, meeting force with greater force. Some might say it was his only option. Others would argue he was just a violent man!

Alexander married Euphemia of Ross in 1382, gaining control over huge swathes of land, but this wasn’t a union of love. He refused to leave his mistress who had already provided him with plenty of children and when his marriage to Euphemia provided no heirs, things soured.

The Bishop of Moray had a problem with Alexander’s methods, so an ultimatum was delivered – return to your wife or be divorced and lose all that new land. Around 6 months later, Alexander lashed out at the Bishop, burning down Elgin Cathedral, along with Pluscarden Abbey and the town of Forres!

It’s no surprise that he found himself divorced, excommunicated and known forever as the Wolf of Badenoch for his actions. Look closely at the entrance of the cathedral and you’ll see evidence of this chapter of history, where the sandstone has been turned red by extreme heat! Surprisingly, he was buried inside a church and you can still visit his tomb in Dunkeld Cathedral!

The Coming Of The Reformation

Even after the Wolf’s inferno, the cathedral limped back to life. By the 15th century, its towers had been rebuilt, and services resumed. But a new storm was coming.

In 1560, the Scottish Reformation swept across the country. Roman Catholicism was cast out in favour of Presbyterianism. Bishops were stripped of power, altars were smashed, murals destroyed and cathedrals like Elgin abandoned.

By 1567, the cathedral was already being robbed of materials. Lead from the roof was removed to be sold. Then, in 1637, a storm sent the central tower crashing down into the nave.

It wasn’t long before the locals were helping themselves to cut stone for barns and houses. The Lantern of the North had gone out.

Elgin Cathedral’s Strangest Inhabitant

Few figures tied to Elgin Cathedral have a story as extraordinary as Andrew Anderson. His mother Marjorie had ran off with a government soldier after they marched through Moray to fight the Jacobites. In 1747, she returned to Elgin unmarried with a baby boy, now shunned by her family.

The penniless mother was forced to live amongst the ruins of the cathedral. She weaved a door and window cover to make the section by the old Chapter House weatherproof. The baby Andrew slept in a stone sink once used by monks to wash their hands before prayer!

Despite these beginnings, Andrew’s intelligence won him a pauper’s scholarship at Elgin Grammar School. He received free education in return for cleaning and caretaking jobs, eventually running away to work in a London tailor’s shop. Eventually, he ended up working for the East India Company, rising to the rank of Major General!

Andrew amassed a small fortune, but he never forgot where he came from. In his will, he left £70,000 to build a charitable institution in Elgin to care for the old and provide opportunities for the young. The result was Anderson’s Institute, which lives on today as Anderson’s Care Home. It’s a literal rags to riches story and one of my favourites from Elgin Cathedral!

Clearing of Elgin Cathedral

By the early 1800s, Elgin Cathedral was in a sorry state, choked with rubble, overgrown and used as the town’s dumping ground. Enter John Shanks, a local shoemaker fondly known as “The Drouthy Cobbler”. In 1824, he was hired to become a caretaker for the ruins.

He took his job incredibly seriously. Armed with just a wheelbarrow, a shovel, and stubborn pride, Shanks set about transforming the place. Over 24 years, he cleared out countless tonnes of rubble and rubbish. The fascinating architectural remains of Elgin Cathedral were slowly being unearthed and began to be admired once more.

The only problem is that Shanks wasn’t an archaeologist. He did the best that anybody could have done, but there were no doubt a few historically interesting remains that ended up thrown away. Any time the cobbler found something that he liked the look of, it was put to one side and that’s the origins of the cathedral’s current collection.

Shanks was the ruin’s first unofficial guide and guardian, greeting curious visitors and showing them the wonders he’d uncovered. He was exactly what Elgin Cathedral needed at the time, giving it the attention and energy that it deserved. Without him, we might have lost even more of this incredible place.

Amaze At The Carvings

While the grand structure of Elgin Cathedral is incredible impressive, it’s the detail of the carvings that really blows me away. You’ll find foliage, grotesques, angels and faces frozen in song, some of them still in place. Even the ceiling of the octagonal chapter house ceiling is impressive, like a blooming flower with odd figures hiding in dark corners.

The real treats are kept inside the cathedral towers, so you’ll need to climb some steps to be able to appreciate them. There are “ferocious” lions and even a bizarre dog amongst the more typical Christian imagery. Keep an eye out for the carving of a monk and if you’re brave enough to look under his robe, you might get a shock!

Elgin Cathedral’s Pictish Stone

Hidden amongst the gravestones and easy to miss entirely, there’s one very special stone at Elgin Cathedral. It’s a Class II Pictish Stone known simply as the Elgin Pillar!

Carved around 1200 years ago, it features a Christian cross on one side and mysterious Pictish symbols on the other. The Crescent and V-rod lies below a Double-Disc and Z-rod – all symbols that are as yet undeciphered but feature heavily in Pictish art. Near the bottom, a hunting scene plays out with figures riding horses.

This stone wasn’t actually found in Elgin Cathedral, but was moved here after being discovered buried in the grounds of St Giles church. It shows that long before this town was graced with a cathedral, it was a site of some religious significance! Whether it marked a grave, boundary or important event – we’ll probably never know.

Scotland’s Tallest Gravestone

You might not think that Scotland’s tallest gravestone could be easily missed, but you’d be wrong! Pinned right up against the south side of the cathedral wall, this 5m tall stone blends right into the sandstone. It belongs to the Andersons of Linkwood, prominent citizens of Elgin and people who clearly liked to get their money’s worth!

There are around a dozen names on this enormous gravestone, along with descriptions of their relations with other prominent local families like the Gordons. There are several Provosts of Elgin included in the list of burials, stretching from 1674 right up to 1813! Not everybody is buried in the cathedral grounds, but they still got a space on this famous stone.

Patrick Sellar’s Grave

Easily the most infamous character buried in Elgin Cathedral, Patrick Sellar’s grave can be found beside the north wall. Born in Elgin and educated as a lawyer, his notoriety came with his job as factor on the Duke of Sutherland’s estates in 1811. His name would soon become synonymous with the dreaded Highland Clearances.

For six years, Sellar oversaw the forced eviction of a vast number of tenants in the name of “improvement”. Sheep farming replaced the traditional way of life, with Sellar himself taking up tenancy of one of the new farms. When people took a stand and refused to leave, violence broke out. Cottages were burned to the ground and in at least one instance, they weren’t always empty.

In 1816, an elderly lady died days after being rescued from a burning house, although Sellar pleaded innocence. In the end, he was acquitted of culpable homicide, but with the jury consisting of other landowners, not many saw it as a fair trial. He was forced to leave his position as factor,

Sellar died in Elgin on 20 October 1851 and was buried in Elgin Cathedral. While I don’t think many visitors will see his grave as a highlight, it’s worth pausing and remembering this brutal chapter of Scottish History!

Where To Stay In Elgin

If you’re including a visit to Elgin Cathedral as part of a longer trip in Elgin, here are some great accommodation options:

St Michael’s Guest House – Probably the most luxurious place to stay in Elgin, I couldn’t recommend this place highly enough!

Kilmorie House – Just a short walk from the Cathedral itself, this is a great, small family run B&B with an incredible breakfast!

The Pines Guest House – Feel a wee bit elegant by staying in this beautiful Victorian mansion.

If you’d like to visit Elgin Cathedral, then how about going on a Scotland’s Stories Tour?

Just click this link to make an enquiry and book your private driving tour today!