St Davids Cathedral (Welsh: Eglwys Gadeiriol Tyddewi) is situated in St Davids in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.
Saint Davids Cathedral | |
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St Davids Cathedral from the gatehouse | |
Coordinates: 51°52′55″N5°16′06″W / 51.88194°N 5.26833°W | |
Location | St Davids, Pembrokeshire |
Country | Wales |
Denomination | Church in Wales |
Previous denomination | Church of England |
Website | stdavidscathedral.org.uk |
History | |
Authorising papal bull | 1123 |
Founded | c. AD 589 |
Founder(s) | St David |
Consecrated | 1131 |
Relics held | St David |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Medieval masons John Nash (18th century) George Gilbert Scott (19th century) |
Style | Romanesque architecture, English Gothic architecture |
Groundbreaking | 1181 |
Completed | mid-13th century |
Specifications | |
Length | 90 metres (300 ft) |
Nave width | 22.5 metres (74 ft) |
Height | 35 metres (115 ft) |
Administration | |
Diocese | St Davids |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Joanna Penberthy |
Dean | Sarah Rowland Jones |
Subdean | Leigh Richardson |
Canon Chancellor | Dr. Patrick Thomas |
Canon Treasurer | Sian Jones |
Laity | |
Organist/Director of music | Oliver Waterer |
Organist(s) | Simon Pearce |
Chapter clerk | Arwel Davies |
Verger | James Elliot Harris |
St David’s Cathedral is the mother church of the diocese of St Davids and an iconic reminder of the Christian heritage of the whole nation of Wales. The cathedral is home to a living community of faith that maintains daily worship, welcomes visitors and pilgrims and offers a pastoral ministry of welcome, care, healing and re-creation. Jun 02, 2019 St Davids Cathedral. Choral Evensong. Live from St Davids Cathedral on the Eve of the Ascension. Live from St Davids Cathedral on the Eve of the Ascension.
- 7Organ
Early history[edit]
The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in 589. Between 645 and 1097, the community was attacked many times by raiders, including the Vikings, however it was of such note as both a religious and intellectual centre that King Alfred summoned help from the monastic community at St Davids in rebuilding the intellectual life of the Kingdom of Wessex. Many of the bishops were murdered by raiders and marauders, including Bishop Moregenau in 999 and Bishop Abraham in 1080. The stone that marked his grave, known as the 'Abraham Stone', is intricately carved with early Celtic symbols and now on permanent display within the Cathedral Exhibition at Porth-y-Tŵr.
In 1081, William the Conqueror visited St Davids to pray, and thus recognised it as a holy and respected place. In 1089, the shrine of David was vandalised and stripped of its precious metals. In 1090, the Welsh scholar Rhigyfarch wrote his Latin Life of David, highlighting David's sanctity, thus beginning the almost cult-like status he achieved.
In 1115, with the area under Norman control, King Henry I of England appointed Bishop Bernard as Bishop of St Davids. He began to improve life within the community, and commenced construction of a new cathedral. In 1123, Pope Calixtus II granted Bishop Bernard's request to bestow a papal privilege upon St Davids, making it a centre of pilgrimage for the Western world, the Pope decreeing that 'Two pilgrimages to St Davids is equal to one to Rome, and three pilgrimages to one to Jerusalem'.[1] The new cathedral was quickly constructed and Bishop Bernard consecrated it in 1131. Henry II of England's visit in 1171 saw the following of David increase and the need for a larger cathedral.
The present cathedral was begun in 1181 and completed not long after. Problems beset the new building and the community in its infancy, the collapse of the new tower in 1220 and earthquake damage in 1247/48.
Under Bishop Gower (1328–1347) the cathedral was modified further, with the rood screen and the Bishops Palace intended as permanent reminders of his episcopacy. (The palace is now a picturesque ruin.)
In 1365, Bishop Adam Houghton and John of Gaunt began to build St Mary's College and a chantry. He later added the cloister, which connects it to the cathedral.[2]
The episcopacy of Edward Vaughan (1509–1522) saw the building of the Holy Trinity chapel, with its fan vaulting which some[who?] say inspired the roof of King’s College, Cambridge. This period also saw great developments for the nave, whose roof and Irish oak ceiling were constructed between 1530-40. Bishop Barlow, unlike his predecessor as bishop, wished to suppress the following of David, and stripped St David's shrine of its jewels and confiscated the relics of St David and St Justinian in order to counteract 'superstition' in 1538. In 1540, the body of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and father of Henry VII, was brought to be entombed in front of the high altar from the dissolved Greyfriars' Priory in Carmarthen.
The establishment of the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell had great effect on many cathedrals and churches, particularly felt in St Davids. The cathedral was all but destroyed by Cromwell’s forces and the lead was stripped from the Bishops Palace roof.
Present cathedral[edit]
The Welsh architect John Nash was commissioned to restore the west front in 1793 to repair the damage done two hundred years previously. Eclectic in style (with Gothic and Perpendicular characteristics - the latter attributed partly to his destruction of the windows of the chapel of St Mary's College in order to reuse that tracery for his west front), his work soon proved to be substandard (as had his previous work on the chapter house). Within a century the Nash west front had become unstable and the whole building was restored by George Gilbert Scott between 1862 and 1870. The lady chapel was restored by public subscription in 1901 and the eastern chapels were restored through a legacy of the Countess of Maidstone between 1901 and 1910.
The cathedral suffered the pains of disestablishment in 1923, as did the whole Church in Wales. The diocese was made smaller by the removal of the Archdeaconry of Brecon to form the new Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. However, this left a large area as a diocese to govern and St Davids began to deteriorate as the centre of the diocese, being nowhere near the centre – the bishop’s residence had been at Carmarthen since the 16th century, but administration and the focus moved from the cathedral to the diocese's now largest town.
The 1950s saw the appointment of the Reverend Carl Witton-Davies as dean; appointed in his thirties, his driving vision and energy was short-lived as he was offered what some was believed as a preferment as Archdeacon of Oxford, but did not leave that position for the rest of his service in the church. The cathedral began to have life again and the famous Welsh Youth Pilgrimages to St Davids (Cymry'r Groes) led many to a life of service in the church and provided the Church in Wales with inspired clergy for a decade following.
The 1960s saw the restoration of St Mary’s College as the cathedral hall, for the use of the cathedral parish and for use as an area for art exhibitions and poetry readings. It was dedicated by Archbishop Edwin Morris in 1966 and the inaugural event was a poetry reading by the renowned poet R. S. Thomas, who served as a vicar in the Bangor diocese.
During the 1980s a number of official events in cathedral life took place: in 1981, Charles, Prince of Wales visited to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral; and on Maundy Thursday 1982, Queen Elizabeth II distributed the Royal Maundy at the cathedral. This was the first occasion that the ceremony had taken place outside England. In 1989–90, the 1400th anniversary of the death of St David was presided over by the Archbishop of Wales, George Noakes, who was also diocesan Bishop of St Davids.
The decades leading to and immediately following the year 2000 have been the most notable in the cathedral's history since its construction.[citation needed] Firstly, the British Government decided to reinstate the title of 'city' to St Davids and this was formally conferred by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 June 1995. The task that lay before the dean, the Very Reverend Wyn Evans, on his appointment in 1994 was huge: a new organ was badly needed and the west front needed extensive restoration. It was also thought time that the cathedral invested in its future by creating a visitor centre within the bell tower, enlarging the peal of bells from eight to ten and by the 'reconstruction', or completion, of the cathedral cloisters to house the cathedral choir, vestries, an education suite, rooms for parish use and a refectory as a reminder of the monastic beginnings. The first project was the restoration of the west front, with the original quarry that was used for stone at Caerbwdi Bay being reopened. This phase was completed in 1998, in time for the organ to be dismantled and rebuilt by the organ builders Harrison and Harrison of Durham. The organ was completed in the middle months of 2000 and dedicated on 15 October that year.
The ring of bells was cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry of London and presented as a gift by the American Friends of St Davids Cathedral. The substantial task of rebuilding the cloisters as an education centre and refectory began in 2003 and was completed in May 2007. The translation of Wyn Evans from dean to bishop led to the appointment of Jonathan Lean as dean in 2009.
The bells are not hung in the central tower of the cathedral but in the old gatehouse, Porth y Twr. There are 10 bells with the heaviest weighing 24 long cwt 3 qr 25 lb (2,797 lb or 1,269 kg) in D, the back eight bells were cast in 1928 by Mears & Stainbank, London and two trebles added in 2000 cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London.Details of the bells:
Bell | Weight | Note | Diameter | Cast year | Foundry | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
long measure | lb | kg | Inches | cm | ||||
1 | 5 long cwt 1 qr 3 lb | 591 | 268 | F♯ | 2000 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | ||
2 | 5 long cwt 1 qr 23 lb | 611 | 277 | E | 2000 | Whitechapel Bell Foundry | ||
3 | 5 long cwt 2 qr 22 lb | 638 | 289 | D | 30.00 | 762 | 1928 | Mears & Stainbank |
4 | 5 long cwt 3 qr 23 lb | 667 | 303 | C♯ | 31.00 | 787 | 1928 | Mears & Stainbank |
5 | 7 long cwt 0 qr 13 lb | 797 | 362 | B | 33.00 | 838 | 1928 | Mears & Stainbank |
6 | 8 long cwt 2 qr 3 lb | 955 | 433 | A | 35.75 | 908 | 1928 | Mears & Stainbank |
7 | 10 long cwt 3 qr 13 lb | 1,217 | 552 | G | 39.00 | 991 | 1928 | Mears & Stainbank |
8 | 11 long cwt 2 qr 23 lb | 1,311 | 595 | F♯ | 41.00 | 1,041 | 1928 | Mears & Stainbank |
9 | 17 long cwt 1 qr 2 lb | 1,934 | 877 | E | 46.00 | 1,168 | 1928 | Mears & Stainbank |
10 | 24 long cwt 3 qr 25 lb | 2,797 | 1,269 | D | 52.00 | 1,321 | 1928 | Mears & Stainbank |
The restored Shrine of St David was unveiled and re-dedicated by the Right ReverendWyn Evans, Bishop of St Davids, at a Choral Eucharist on St Davids Day 2012.[3]
Cathedral life[edit]
There are at least three services said or sung per day, each week, with sung services on five out of seven days.
The cathedral choir at St Davids was the first cathedral choir in the United Kingdom to use girls and men as the main choir, rather than boys and men.[4] (Salisbury Cathedral introduced boys and girls earlier on an equal basis, whereas St Davids uses girls as their 'main' cathedral choristers.) There is also a boys' choir whose weekly Evensong is a major event within the cathedral week. They sing with the vicars choral regularly.
The St Davids Cathedral Festival runs through the Whitsun school holiday each year and showcases some of the world's best performers. The week sees performers, both professional and young, play in front of thousands. The cathedral choir serve as a highlight each year, being a very popular concert, as well as the Festival Chorus and Orchestra who perform a major work on the final night of the festival.
List of deans[edit]
Before 1840 the senior residentiary cleric was the precentor and not a dean due to a complication during the dissolution of the monasteries. Since 1840 the title 'Dean' has been appended to that of Precentor, hence the deans of St Davids are formally the 'Dean and Precentor' and their seat being on what is normally regarded in most places the cantoris side, with a stall 'in quire' reserved for the bishop.
- 1839–1878 Llewelyn Lewellin (assumed title of Dean in 1840)
- 1878–1895 James Allen
- 1895–1897 Owen Phillips
- 1897–1903 David Howell
- 1904–1918 James Allan Smith
- 1919–1930 William Williams
- 1931–1940 David Watcyn Morgan
- 1940–1949 Albert Parry
- 1950–1957 Carlyle Witton-Davies (afterwards Archdeacon of Oxford, 1957)
- 1957–1972 Edward Jenkins
- 1972–1984 Lawrence Bowen
- 1984–1990 Gordon MacWilliam
- 1990–1994 Bertie Lewis
- 1994–2008 Wyn Evans (afterwards Bishop of St Davids)
- 2009–2017 Jonathan Lean
- 2017-present Sarah Rowland Jones
Local legends[edit]
Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis) in the 13th century relates the strange story of a marble footbridge leading from the church over the Alun rivulet in St Davids. The marble stone was called 'Llechllafar' ('the talking stone') because it once spoke when a corpse was carried over it to the cemetery for interment. The effort of speech had caused it to break, despite its size of ten feet in length, six in breadth and one in thickness. This bridge was worn smooth due to its age and the thousands of people who had walked over it, however the superstition was so great that corpses were no longer carried over it.[5] This ancient bridge was replaced in the 16th century and its present whereabouts is not known.[6][7]
Another legend is that Merlin had prophesied the death on Llechllafar of an English king, conqueror of Ireland, who had been injured by a man with a red hand. King Henry II, whilst on a pilgrimage to Saint Davids, having come over from Ireland, heard of the prophecy and crossed Llechllafar without ill effect. He boasted that Merlin was a liar, to which a bystander replied that the King would not conquer Ireland and was therefore not the king of the prophecy.[5] This turned out to be true, for Henry never did conquer the whole of Ireland.[6][7]
Burials[edit]
- Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (father of Henry VII)
Organ[edit]
A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[8]
List of organists[edit]
- 1509 John Norman
- 1563 Thomas Elliot
- c.1570–c.1586 Thomas Tomkins (father of the composer Thomas Tomkins)[9][10]
- 1713 R. Mordant
- 1714 Henry Mordant
- 1719 Richard Tomkins
- 1719 Williarn Bishop
- 1720 Henry Williams
- 1725 Matthew Maddox
- 1734 Matthew Philpott
- 1793 Arthur Richardson
- 1827 John Barrett
- 1851 William Peregrine Propert
- 1883 Frederick Garton
- 1894 D. John Codner
- 1896 Herbert C. Morris
- 1922 Joseph Soar
- 1953 Peter Boorman
- 1977 Nicholas Jackson
- 1984 Malcolm Watts
- 1990 Kerry Beaumont
- 1995 Geraint Bowen
- 2001 Timothy Noon
- 2007 Alexander Mason
- 2011 Daniel Cook
- 2013 Oliver Waterer
References[edit]
- ^'A Brief History'. St Davids Cathedral.
- ^Glanmor Williams, ‘Houghton, Adam (died 1389)’, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)
- ^'News Archive 2012'. St Davids Cathedral.
- ^'The Choir'. St Davids Cathedral. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
- ^ abHoare, Sir Richard Colt (1806). The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales MCLXXXVIII by Giraldus de Barri. Pub. William Miller, London. P. 6 - 8.
- ^ abPhillips, Rev James (1909). The History of Pembrokeshire. Pub. Elliot Stock, London. P. 205 - 206.
- ^ abJones, William Basil; Freeman, Edward Augustus (1856). 'The History and Antiquities of Saint Davids'. London: J. H. & J. Parker: 222.
- ^'Pembrokeshire (Dyfed), St Davids Cathedral of St David & St Andrew'. National Pipe Organ Register. The British Institute of Organ Studies. 2005. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
- ^'St Andrew and St David'. English Cathedrals Music. Retrieved 16 September 2016.[self-published source]
- ^*'Thomas Tomkins'. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27515.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St David's Cathedral. |
St Davids | |
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City | |
St Davids Cathedral | |
Location within Pembrokeshire | |
Area | 17.93 sq mi (46.4 km2) (community) 0.23 sq mi (0.60 km2) (urban area) |
Population | 1,841 [1](2011) |
• Density | 103/sq mi (40/km2) |
OS grid reference | SM755255 |
Community | |
Principal area | |
Ceremonial county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | HAVERFORDWEST |
Postcode district | SA62 |
Dialling code | 01437 |
Police | Dyfed-Powys |
Fire | Mid and West Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
EU Parliament | Wales |
UK Parliament | |
Welsh Assembly | |
|
St Davids or St David's[2][3] (Welsh: Tyddewi, [tɨː ˈðɛwi], lit. 'David's house') is a city[4] and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close)[5] with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the final resting place of Saint David, Wales's patron saint, and named after him. St Davids is the United Kingdom's smallest city in terms of population (1,841 in 2011)[6] and urban area. The smallest city by formal definition of local authority boundary area is the City of London.
In the 16th century, St Davids was given city status. The status does not apply automatically on the basis of any particular criteria, although in England and Wales it was traditionally given to towns with diocesan cathedrals. This association between having a cathedral and being called a city was established in the early 1540s when King Henry VIII founded dioceses. City status was lost in 1886 but, at the request of Queen Elizabeth II, restored in 1994.
Map of St. Davids in Pembrokeshire, Wales, demonstrating the size of the settlement, compared to its wider city boundary. Also indicated are isolated hamlets and offshore islands.History[edit]
Tradition states that David was born to Saint Non at what is now St Non's, just to the south of the city, in about AD 500. It is said that he was baptised at Porthclais, now the city's port, and was brought up by his mother at Llanon. St David may also have been educated at Ty Gwyn, Whitesands, by St Paulinus.
In the 6th century, David founded a monastery and church at Glyn Rhosyn (Rose Vale) on the banks of the River Alun. The area was originally known in the Welsh language as Mynyw and to the Romans as Meneva or Menevia. The monastic brotherhood that David founded was very strict — besides praying and celebrating masses, they cultivated the land and carried out many crafts, including beekeeping, in order to feed themselves and the many pilgrims and travellers who needed lodgings. They also fed and clothed the poor and needy.[7]
The settlement that grew up around the monastery was called Tyddewi meaning 'David's house'. In 519 the archbishopric of Caerleon in the county of Monmouth was transferred to Mynyw, which was renamed 'St Davids' in honour of the archbishop and saint by whom the transfer was accomplished.[8] The original cathedral built on the site was often plundered by the Vikings and was finally burnt and destroyed in 1087. The present cathedral was built by the Normans and contained many relics, including the remains of St David. It was visited by many pilgrims, many of whom were nobles and kings, including William the Conqueror in 1077, Henry II in 1171, and Edward I and Queen Eleanor in 1284.[8]Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome ('Roma semel quantum dat bis Menevia tantum'). Because of this, a vast income was raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages.[9] Pilgrimages later fell out of favour due to practices such as the selling of indulgences, and the income from them faded away. By the 19th century, the city of St Davids was isolated and neglected and was described in the Penny Cyclopaedia,[8]
At present its appearance is that of a poor village, the houses, excepting those of the clergy, being in a ruinous state. The locality is lonely, and the neighbouring district wild and unimproved; but it is still an interesting place as the seat of a large episcopal see, with a fine cathedral and the remains of other magnificent religious edifices.
Since then, better transport and the advent of tourism have helped the city prosper again. Next to the cathedral, the 13th-century Bishop's Palace is a ruin maintained by Cadw and open to visitors. The city was once a marcher borough, within which lay the hundred of Dewisland. In 1603, the antiquarian George Owen described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve.[10]
In addition to the cathedral, notable features of the city include the 14th-century Tower Gate, the Celtic Old Cross and a number of art galleries. St Davids is also a base for walking and water sports. It has several hotels, a pharmacy, shops and galleries, a youth hostel and a number of pubs.
Geography[edit]
The community council area sits at the southern end of the Irish Sea on a peninsula, between Cardigan Bay, St George's Channel and St Brides Bay. It covers not just the mainland area, but also several islands off the coast, of which Ramsey Island is the largest and the only one inhabited, separated by the Ramsey Sound. The most westerly mainland point of Wales is at Pen Dal-aderyn. To the north lie Whitesands Bay and St Davids Head, which are locally notable landscape features. The mainland contains much area used for farming, but contains very small scattered residences and several campsites.St Davids Lifeboat Station, at St Justinian, has saved an estimated 360 people since the first lifeboat was located there in 1869; four lifeboatmen have died while saving others.[11] The Irish Sea includes a large number of offshore rocks and islands and is notorious for strong tides.[12] The entire coastline around St Davids forms part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Saint Non's Well overlooks the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and St Brides Bay. St David's Airfield, although named after the city when opened in 1943, is in the neighbouring community of Solva. The highest point is Carn Llidi at 181 metres (594 ft)
Several isolated hamlets are located throughout the community:
- Berea
- Caerfarchell
- Carnhedryn
- Fachelich/Vachelich
- Llandruidion
- Rhodiad-y-brenin
- Treleddyd-fawr
- Trelerw
- Tretio
Several islands and islets, lie within a few miles from the coast. These are administratively within St Davids:
- Ramsey Island also known as Ynys Dewi (the largest)
- Carreg Yr Esgob
- Carreg Fran
The islands below are part of the Bishop And Clerks grouping, and were included in 1987:[13]
- Carreg Rhoson
- Carreg Rhoson East Island
- Carreg-trai
- Cribog
- Daufraich
- Llechau-isaf
- Llechau-uchaf
- Maen Daufraich
- Maen Rhoson
- Moelyn
- North Bishop
- South Bishop also known as Em-sger, is the furthest away from Pen Dal-aderyn at 4 miles.
City status[edit]
In the 16th century a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits, but this link was abolished in 1888,[14] and amid prior borough reorganisation,[15] St Davids lost the right to call itself a city. In 1991 St Davids town council proposed that a case for city status, which the residents had long considered it to have anyway, should be promoted in connection with the 40th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and in 1992 the Home Office agreed to refer the matter to Buckingham Palace. In 1994, at the Queen's request, St Davids was again granted city status along with the Northern Irish town of Armagh, 'in recognition of their important Christian heritage and their status as cities in the last century'.[14] The letters patent conferring city status were formally presented by the Queen in a ceremony at St Davids Cathedral on 1 June 1995.[16]
The award of city status is typically granted to a local authority,[17] whose administrative area is then considered to be the formal borders of the city. By this definition, the whole community area of St Davids and the Cathedral Close, including the settlement of St Davids, its surrounding rural area, and islands off the coast, is considered to be the limits of the city. St Davids contains the lowest population of all the cities of the UK, and has the smallest urban area, at 0.23 sq mi (0.60 km2). However, with the formal city area defined by its community council extent of 17.93 sq mi (46.4 km2), this sizeable expanse including offshore islands does mean that several other UK cities are physically smaller, with the City of London being the smallest at 1.12 sq mi (2.9 km2). In Wales, St Davids is third smallest behind the community areas of St Asaph at 2.49 sq mi (6.4 km2), and Bangor with 2.79 sq mi (7.2 km2).
Governance[edit]
St Davids was a borough from 1115[18] until 1886, when this was abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1883, its corporation deemed to be long extinct. This, in turn, appears to have caused the loss of city status, as there was no corporate body available to petition for a renewal of its charter.[15]
The borough lay across two parishes, and by the time of the creation of registration districts in 1837 these were:[19][20]
- Cathedral Close of St. David's – the close surrounding the cathedral and associated church buildings;
- St Davids – the rest of the city and rural areas.
These were split from the church into civil parishes during 1866, converted to Welsh community administrative areas in 1974, and merged in 1987[5] to form the present day St Davids and the Cathedral Close.
St Davids City Council is the community council body, and is composed of twelve councillors.[21] The City Council employs one City Clerk and one Financial Officer.[21] The currently elected presiding officer is The Rt Wp The Mayor of St Davids Cllr John George.[21]
The parishes were part of the Haverfordwestrural sanitary district, then Haverfordwest rural district from 1894 until 1974 when they changed to communities and placed into Preseli district.[22] Preseli was abolished in 1996 under further local government reform, and the city presently comes under Pembrokeshire County Council for all principal government services.
The electoral ward of St Davids elects a county councillor to Pembrokeshire County Council.
Culture and sport[edit]
The city hosted the National Eisteddfod in 2002. The Archbishop-designate of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards, a historic order of Druids.[23]
The St Davids Penknife Club is a group of people dedicated to voluntary fund raising for local groups and charities.[24]
St Davids has a rugby union club, St Davids RFC, which competes in the SWALEC League Six West.[25]
Whitesands Bay, about two miles west of St Davids, is a popular water sports resort. It has been described as the best surfing beach in Pembrokeshire and among the best tourist beaches in the world.[26]
Education[edit]
Ysgol Dewi Sant (St David's School) is the local secondary school, with pupils in Years 7–13 (i.e. aged from 11 to 18).[27] Ysgol Bro Dewi (Dewisland School) is a Voluntary Controlled Primary School, with pupils from Reception to Year 6.
Notable people[edit]
- Asser, mentor of King Alfred the Great, and writer of his biography, was a monk at St Davids before being called into Alfred's service.
- William Barlow, expert on magnetism and Anglican cleric, was born in St Davids some time during the tenure of his father, also William Barlow, as bishop (1536–48).
- Henry Hicks (1837–1899), eminent surgeon and geologist, was born at St Davids and practised there from 1862 until 1871.
- Thomas Tomkins (1572–1656), eminent musician and composer, was born in St Davids.
Twin towns[edit]
St Davids is twinned with: [28]
- Naas, Republic of Ireland
- Orléat, France
- Matsieng, Lesotho
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Office for National Statistics 2011 census – St David's and the Cathedral Close C
- ^Parish Headcounts for Pembrokeshire (based on 2001 Census) at Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2011-08-01
- ^As specified in New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and EditorsOUP 2005. The name is often spelt without its possessive apostrophe, including by the St Davids City Council
- ^'GENUKI: St David's'. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ ab'The Preseli (Communities) Order 1987'. www.legislation.gov.uk.
Communities 6. In the District as altered....
(3) the... existing communities of ...Cathedral Close of St. David's, ...St. Davids, ...shall be abolished;
(4) ...new communities to be known as ...St. Davids and the Cathedral Close, ...shall be constituted; - ^'Office for National Statistics 2011 – census – St David's and the Cathedral Close C'.
- ^Jones, Rhys James (28 February 1994). 'Saint David and Saint David's Day'. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ abcAnon (1837). 'David's, St'. The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London: Charles Knight and Co. 7–8: 317. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^St David's day, PembrokeshireArchived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at History.UK.com, 16 February 2003. Retrieved on 1 August 2011
- ^Owen, George, The Description of Penbrokshire by George Owen of Henllys Lord of Kemes, Henry Owen (Ed), London, 1892
- ^St Davids Lifeboat Station: IntroductionArchived 2011-08-11 at the Wayback Machine at Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Accessed on 1 August 2011
- ^St Davids Lifeboat StationArchived 2011-08-22 at the Wayback Machine at Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Accessed 1 August 2011.
- ^'The Preseli (Communities) Order 1987'. www.legislation.gov.uk.
Communities
6.
(6) the Bishops and Clerks shall be included in the new community of St. Davids and the Cathedral Close - ^ abBeckett, J. V. (2005). City status in the British Isles, 1830–2002. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 22. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ ab'Agenda Item No: 5 COMMITTEE REGENERATION AND COMMUNITY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE DATE 4 MARCH 2003 TITLE OF REPORT ROCHESTER CITY STATUS RESPONSIBLE OFFICER Mark Bowen, Assistant Director, Legal and Contract Services'(PDF). democracy.medway.gov.uk. Medway Council.
St. David’s in Wales lost City Status through local government re-organisation at the end of the 19th century.
- ^Alderson, Alf (3 March 2001). 'The small city with the big kicks'. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^'Corby City Bid'(PDF). www.corby.gov.uk. Corby Borough Council.
Applications may only be made by an elected local authority – normally, in respect of the entire local authority area.
- ^'PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT SITE NUN STREET, ST DAVIDS, PEMBROKESHIRE: HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT APPRAISAL'(PDF). www.haystonplanning.co.uk.
Nothing is known of any civilian settlement prior to 1115 when St Davids was established as a borough, receiving its first charter from King Henry I.
- ^https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/places/regindex2-3.pdf
- ^https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/haverfordwest.html
- ^ abchttp://www.stdavids.gov.uk/council-information/
- ^'Haverfordwest RSD through time | Census tables with data for the Sanitary District'. www.visionofbritain.org.uk.
- ^St Davids and St Davids Cathedral, Pembrokeshire at Wales in Style. Accessed on 1 August 2011
- ^'St Davids Penknife Club'. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ^SWALEC League Six West at Welsh Rugby Union
- ^'Pembrokeshire County Council'. 19 September 2017.
- ^'The Curriculum'. Ysgol Dewi Sant website. 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ^'St Davids City Council – Twin towns'. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
Further reading[edit]
- O'Malley, Brian Brendan, comp. (1985) A Pilgrim's Manual: St Davids. Marlborough: Paulinus Press ISBN0-907740-13-8
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St David's. |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for St Davids. |
- St Davids at www.visitpembrokeshire.com (official council tourism website)
- St Davids at Curlie