Pub history

The Red Gown

Founded in 1413, the University of St Andrews is Scotland’s oldest university and the only one in which students continue the centuries-old tradition of wearing distinctive academic gowns. The red gown was introduced as a uniform, making students easy to identify. Today, students wear the gown at formal events, positioning it lower with each academic year, until it rests across their elbows, symbolising gradually ‘shrugging off’ the university’s support as they approach graduation.