Celebrating 100 Years of the Kate Kennedy Procession

“Wouldn't it be marvellous if some of these people from the past could come back and you could walk the streets of St Andrews with them?”

On 18 April, 2026, St Andrews celebrated its centenary Kate Kennedy Procession. Townspeople, students, and University faculty alike gathered to watch as centuries of the town’s historical figures danced, fiddled, and recited poetry on the three streets. Among the parade were Wendy and Frank Quinault — the latter dressed as Bishop Lamberton — two of the Kate Kennedy Club’s honourary life members. Over a cup of coffee, Mr and Mrs Quinault recounted their 30 years organising the Procession.

The Quinalts moved to St Andrews in 1972, when Mr Quinalt received a lectureship in the University’s School of Psychology: “I was on the staff at the time, and I had a lot to do with student welfare. I knew quite a lot of the students […]  and they said they’d quite like me to join [the Procession].

The Club also approached Mrs Quinault. “I was asked about 30 years ago if I [would help] with the dressing of characters on the day of the procession, and it just snowballed from there,” she said. “So I've been mainly involved with the costumes [since].”

The Club’s goals are threefold: to facilitate relations between ‘town’ and ‘gown,’ preserve St Andrews’ traditions, and raise money for local charities. Whilst the Club is still selective, admitting only a few new students each year, they pride themselves on their consistent engagement with both students and the town — an aspect that they see as distinguishing them from St Andrews’ other member’s clubs. Charity balls like Opening Ball and May Ball, like the Procession, are among the most popular of these endeavours.

Whilst the Kate Kennedy Club is celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year, the Club has its origins rooted in medieval legends. In the late nineteenth century, students organised Kate Kennedy Day to celebrate the infamous niece of Bishop Kennedy, one of the University’s founders — who, according to legend, was revered by medieval students for being immensely beautiful. 

“It's a lovely story,” said Mr Quinault. “Whether it's actually true, I don't know.”

The original Kate Kennedy Day, “to be honest, was a bit of a rag,” said Mr Quinault. The University banned the celebration in 1881 for being raucous and controversial. It was not until 1926, inspired by then Rector JM Barrie — best known for his novel Peter Pan — and his address on ‘Courage,’ that students Donald Kennedy and James Doak rehabilitated the procession. With the help of Principal Sir James Irvine, it was re-established as a “serious thing,” said Mr Quinault. 

“The Club was sort of born out of the procession, then,” said Mr Quinalt. “They’re coterminous.”

The Procession depicts St Andrews’ 25 epochs, from the formation of the early church and the University’s founding to the more contemporary citizens and golfers of the town. Students, townspeople, and University faculty dress “flamboyantly” in period costumes to represent these figures as they march through the town.

“Those costumes have been around for a while,” remarked Mrs Quinault. “Some of them date back to the [19]30s and 40s […] but most have been replaced.” 

Mark Dennis, another honorary life member of the Club, led these recovery efforts. “He was really quite an expert on these things and designed lots of [the new costumes],” recalled Mr Quinault. “Mark would research these things meticulously and then source materials from all over the world.” 

“30 years ago […] it was make-and-mend,” and costume repairs often used “bits of lace of somebody's petticoat or something like that,” added Mrs Quinault. “The costumes have improved a great deal because of [Dennis].” Dennis sadly passed away last December ahead of the centenary procession, but his indelible contributions to its design and costuming were visible in the parade’s 150 historical costumes.

Mrs Quinault reserves the ceremonial role of dressing Kate Kennedy herself (or the actor playing her, rather). Tradition dictates that the role of Lady Katherine goes to the “most promising bejant.” This is kept hidden until the hour of the Procession. “It’s all very secretive,” said Mrs Quinault.

The Procession is full of such small traditions. Kate Kennedy can be played by either a man or a woman, though the one requirement is that they must be beardless. “In fact, people have shaved their beard off [to be considered for the role],” said Mrs Quinault. Other roles come with similar beardless qualifications. “Robin Evvette, who plays Principal Irvine, shaves his beard off every year to play [the character]. I think that's dedication,” joked Mrs Quinault.

Other ceremonial roles include ‘Keeper of the Costumes,’ ‘Pro Keeper,’ and ‘Keeper of the Coaches,’ performed this year by members Nico Fitzwilliam-Lay, Thea McMenamin, and Guy Nichols, respectively. 

“It's kind of a system of passing down knowledge,” said Grace Sammartini, the Club’s vice president.

In the Procession, the town takes precedence, stressed Mrs Quinnault. “It's something that celebrates the town, not just the University. It’s not just University characters that are in the procession, you’ve got townspeople, provosts, and fishwives.”

As a resident of St Andrews for the past 54 years, Mrs Quinault observed the University’s slow takeover of the town, noticing that the ratio of students to townspeople has increased fourfold. The Club makes an effort to protect locals’ roles in the Procession, she explained. The famous golfer James 'Tip' Anderson, for example, was played by Kenny Lindsay, a caddy and St Andrews native, this year. Other characters like Archbishop Beaton, Dr Adamson, and Prof Margaret Fairlie were also played by town locals. David Strachan, Chair of The St Andrews Preservation Trust, has been in the Procession since he was a child. “There's this lifelong connection with [the Procession],’ concluded Mrs Quinault.

Children have been a target demographic for the Club’s centenary. “[In] all the years we’ve been involved, there’s been some involvement with children,” said Mrs Quinault. She recalled dressing her children up for the annual Christmas parties at Madras College and the passion, for which her daughter dressed as Kate Kennedy. The Club designed colouring books to distribute amongst the town’s children ahead of this year’s Procession, each page depicting one of the characters present in the parade. “The children are just really fascinated,” said Sammartini. “They were asking me [questions] like, ‘Who is Robert Ferguson?’”   

For the Kate Kennedy Club, the 100^th anniversary Procession is a time to look forward. “[The Club] has been adapting to changing times, and I think that’s really the only way forward,” said Sammartini. “[We are] maintaining the same core values but adapting them to the future.”

The Club has changed extensively in recent years, setting up a trust for the Procession, registering as a charity, and admitting its first female members in 2012. To expand its ability to deepen its involvement with local charities, the Club plans to set up a Life Members Association endowment. “The hope is [with the endowment] that we will eventually have enough money [through endowments] to pay for the Procession, and the Club can get back to […] raising funds for local causes,” said Mr Quinault.

“What’s really inspiring to me is to see that the core values of the Club and the Procession have always been the same in a certain sense,” said Sammartini. “It's joining the town, and it's preserving traditions and, at the same time, preserving […] this Scottish identity in history.” 

Photo by Christopher Kelly-Brown