Smart History is a collaboration which draws from images and manuscripts in the University’s Special Collections department to create virtual reconstructions of the town’s most historic buildings. 

Their most recent project was to digitally reconstruct Holy Trinity Church as it was believed to have appeared in the mid-sixteenth century – around the time John Knox preached his famous sermon which convinced the St Andrews’ burgh council to publicly adopt Protestantism. 

St Andrews Community Trust helped fund the reconstruction which was on show to the public in Holy Trinity during the late summer of 2019 as part of a free exhibition examining the history of religion in St Andrews, with hopes to turn this into a longer term/permanent display. The resulting digital resource can also be distributed online and used in educational contexts.

Dr Bess Rhodes, of the Schools of History and Computer Science, said: 

‘Holy Trinity is central to Scottish history. Events here in the summer of 1559 transformed the religious future of this country. This project, supported by the Community Trust, has tried to recapture the character of Holy Trinity as it was on the eve of the momentous changes of 1559 and our hope is that it will act as a community resource fostering awareness of a key local heritage site, and its role shaping the burgh of St Andrews and the history of Scotland as a whole. It will also produce digital resources which could be used in future permanent exhibits, and which can be used for teaching purposes (at both primary and secondary level).’