The ghostly, tortured, face of Patrick Hamilton burned onto into the masonry of St.Salvator's, St. Andrews.



The ghostly, tortured, face of Patrick Hamilton burned onto into the masonry of St.Salvator's, St. Andrews.

Patrick Hamilton was one of the very first Protestant preachers in Scotland who, in 1528, was arrested and tried for heresy, bravely accepting both his guilt and his death sentence.

The authorities were concerned that if they spent too long preparing for his execution, powerful friends might rescue the condemned man. It was decided that he should be burned at the stake immediately and a pyre was hastily prepared outside St Salvator’s Chapel. 

Unfortunately, it was a damp day and the freshly gathered wood burned slowly. Hamilton stood for hours in agony amongst the smouldering pile. To speed things along, the executioners threw gunpowder on the embers which exploded, but still didn’t end his torture. 

Eventually, things were too much for poor Hamilton to bear and he pled for death, allegedly crying "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Almost immediately the preacher died, but the excruciating pain of his 6-hour burning is said to have left a lasting mark. When the smoke cleared, the impression of a tortured face had appeared on the wall of St Salvator's.


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