Mysterious face that looks down from the bell tower of St Salvator's Chapel

The University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and was founded between 1410 and 1413. It is in the town of St Andrews (Scottish Gaelic: Cill Rìmhinn) which on the northeast coast of the historic county of Fife (Fìobha). The university occupies historic and modern buildings located throughout the town, including St Salvator's Chapel. Noted as a rare and beautiful example of Late Gothic architecture it was founded in 1450 as a part of Bishop James Kennedy's College of the Holy Saviour. The University has two collegiate chapels. The chapel of St Salvator's and the smaller Chapel of St Leonard's,  which is the university's oldest building, some parts dating from 1144. 

The Chapel of St Salvator has had a long and varied history, serving both as the college chapel and collegiate church for the wider community. As such its has also witnessed the violent history of religion that has been a sad feature of St Andrews past. There has been an important church in St Andrews since before the 8th century, and a bishopric since at least the 11th century. It became the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, a position which was held until the Scottish Reformation. The Reformation split the Church into Catholic and Protestant factions. Faced with the growing protestant threat Cardinal Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation, instigated an inquisition-style regime against Protestant "heresy" at St Andrews; the centre of the Scottish Church. 

It was during this period that in 1528, Patrick Hamilton (1504 – 29 February 1528)  became Scotland's first Protestant martyr. He was a Scottish churchman and an early Protestant Reformer in Scotland. It was beneath the bell tower of St Salvator's Chapel that Patrick Hamilton met his gruesome end.  The initials 'PH' set in to the cobbles marks the site where 24 year old Patrick Hamilton was burnt at the stake. He was bound to the stake and a trail of gunpowder laid to light the fire. But the wood was damp and it failed to ignite and it took a considerable time to get the fire to burn. Patrick Hamilton was initially badly scorched but not killed and his death did not come quickly. The fire burnt slowly from noon to 6 PM and over that time a monk, Alexander Campbell, took the opportunity to verbally condemn him.

Local tradition now has it that a mysterious face etched into the stone work of the college tower is that of Patrick Hamilton. It is said that as he died the image of his face was burned into St Salvator's Tower. The monk who condemned him as he died was said to have met his own death shortly afterwards. Many believe that the lone figure of a ghost that has been seen wandering through Blackfriars Chapel in the centre of St Andrews is that of the ghost of Friar Campbell.