 Elgin Cathedral is a historic ruin in Elgin , Moray , north @-@ east Scotland . The cathedral — dedicated to the Holy Trinity — was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II outside the burgh of Elgin and close to the River <unk> . It replaced the cathedral at Spynie , 3 kilometres ( 1 @.@ 9 mi ) to the north , that was served by a small chapter of eight clerics . The new and bigger cathedral was staffed with 18 canons in <unk> and then increased to 23 by <unk> . After a damaging fire in 1270 , a rebuilding programme greatly enlarged the building . It was unaffected by the Wars of Scottish Independence but again suffered extensive fire damage in 1390 following an attack by Robert III 's brother Alexander Stewart , Earl of Buchan , also known as the Wolf of Badenoch . In 1402 the cathedral precinct again suffered an incendiary attack by the followers of the Lord of the Isles . The number of clerics required to staff the cathedral continued to grow , as did the number of craftsmen needed to maintain the buildings and surrounds . The number of canons had increased to 25 by the time of the Scottish Reformation in 1560 , when the cathedral was abandoned and its services transferred to Elgin 's parish church of St Giles . After the removal of the lead that <unk> the roof in 1567 , the cathedral steadily fell into decay . Its deterioration was arrested in the 19th century , by which time the building was in a substantially ruinous condition . 
