The St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation SCIO

15/09/2026

The fountain, featured in 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘕𝘰𝘸:

The historic Whyte Melville Memorial Fountain in St Andrews is flowing again after a significant restoration project was delivered which was project-managed by Fife Council and funded by the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation. During a special event in Market Street, the fountain was officially switched

14/09/2026

Coverage of the fountain reactivation in The Herald

The historic Whyte Melville Memorial Fountain has officially returned to operation in the heart of St Andrews following the completion of a major…

09/09/2026

Fife Council press release anent the Whyte-Melville

The historic Whyte Melville Memorial Fountain has officially returned to operation in the heart of St Andrews following the completion of a major restoration project funded by the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation and project-managed by Fife Council.

04/09/2026

Yesterday, accompanied by St Andrews councillors and Fife Council officers, the Chairman and trustees of the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation formally switched on the restored and re-piped Whyte-Melville Memorial Fountain in Market Street.

This project took ten years to see to fruition, through a conservation and heritage methodology, meetings, permissions, tendering and pandemic lockdowns; it also saw one or two surprises on the way - such as the need for new foundations below the fountain. The project cost was met by the Pilgrim Foundation from the most generous annual grant funding made by the Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation, along with some smaller donations.

The fountain was constructed in 1880 and its removal and return to Market Street in the past year marks the first time in nearly 150 years that it has been moved. The works have been described as the fountain's "100-year service" and now that it is flowing again we hope it will continue to do so into the twnetysecond century.

30/04/2026

St Leonards coverage of the Playfair plaque

St Leonards has unveiled a historic blue plaque to commemorate Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair (1786-1861), former Provost of St Andrews and a key figure in shaping the town. Playfair played a central role in the development of St Andrews in the 19th century, improving infrastructure, restoring key areas and...

30/04/2026

The latest project of the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation - a plaque to Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair, Provost of St Andrews from 1842-1861, who lived at what is now St Leonards School.

Playfair undertook a programme of radical transformation in St Andrews – modernising the town’s infrastructure, straightening and widening streets; preventing the collapse of the Harbour in the 1840s, improving hydration and sanitation, strengthening the University of St Andrews via grants and funding for the university at a time when its survival was in question, and making St Andrews a centre of early photography – working with Sir David Brewster, he helped develop and promote the calotype process. Playfair also revived the town’s golfing culture and prevented the Links from being consumed by the tides. Perhaps most importantly, Playfair supported the introduction of a railway branch line from Leuchars Junction, facilitating the ingress of hotels and hydros, beach amusements, gelaterias and the entire Victorian seaside holiday experience – the railway also played into his efforts to save the stricken university, and later, to connect it with the new science complex at Dundee.

Playfair resurrected St Andrews from a crumbling mediæval ruin to the St Andrews we know today - the success of St Andrews in the modern age is largely therefore thanks to Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair and the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation has been pleased to honour him via the installation of this plaque at St Leonards.

A plaque has been unveiled to honour one of the most influential figures in the modern development of St Andrews.

17/03/2026

Members of Fife Council's North East Fife Area Committee have agreed to invest £7,250 from the St Andrews Common Good Fund to support essential works on the George Whyte-Melville Memorial Fountain. The funding will cover emergency repairs to the fountain’s foundations and new perimeter drainage—work that was identified after the fountain was carefully dismantled as part of an ongoing conservation project led by the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation. Specialist contractors found that the original foundations were not strong enough to safely support the structure once restored.

Meanwhile, the restoration work to the stonework and piping goes on apace.

Members of the North East Fife Area Committee have agreed to invest £7,250 from the St Andrews Common Good Fund to support essential works on the historic Whyte Melville Fountain in Market Street.

08/01/2026

Coverage of our next plaquing project - Mary, Queen of Scots and Hugh Lyon-Playfair at St Leonards School.

The between links Mary Queen of Scots and Hugh Lyon Playfair to two school buildings in St Andrews are set to be recognised.

08/01/2026

The Scotsman coverage of the accession of Sandy Lyle to the Pilgrim Foundation presidency.

Scottish legend succeeds the late Sir Michael Bonallack in prestigious post

06/01/2026

We are delighted to announce that Sandy Lyle OBE is the new Honorary President of the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation, succeeding the late Sir Michael Bonallack.

Sandy is one of the greatest golfers Scotland has ever produced, with a career full of historic achievements, including The Open in 1985, when he became the first Scot to win The Open since 1931, and The Masters in 1988, when he became the first British golfer to win at Augusta, sealed with one of the most iconic bunker shots in golfing history.

Sandy has enjoyed 20 professional wins worldwide, including victories on both the European Tour and PGA Tour, helping open the door for European players in the USA. He has represented Europe five times in the Ryder Cup and was part of three winning teams.

Sandy was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours for his services to golf — recognising his outstanding contributions to the sport in Scotland and internationally. The honour was presented to him at an investiture ceremony at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in March 2025. Sandy is also a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee and winner of the European Tour Order of Merit

Sandy is a trailblazer and a proud ambassador for Scottish golf. We are delighted to welcome him to the Foundation as our Honorary President.