St David's
Encyclopedia
St Davids is a city
and community
in Pembrokeshire
, Wales
. Lying on the River Alun
on St David's Peninsula
, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David
, the country's patron saint
, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of Wales.
as Mynyw and in Latin
as Menevia, and was later renamed in honour of David. The city is built around St David's Cathedral
which was a popular place of pilgrimage
in the Middle Ages
. Next to it, the 14th century Bishop's Palace is a ruin maintained by Cadw
and open to visitors. St David's was once a marcher
borough. In 1603 the antiquarian George Owen described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve
.
Tradition states that Saint David was born to Saint Non
at what is now St Non's, a ten-minute walk south of the city, in about AD 500. It is also said that he was baptised at Porthclais
, now the city's port, was brought up by his mother at Llanon
, and that he founded the city in around 550. Pope Calixtus II reportedly decreed that two pilgrimages to St David's were equivalent to one to Rome. Because of this a vast income was raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Saint Non's Well overlooks the Pembrokeshire Coast Path
and St Brides Bay. The Cambrian
cliffs make this a popular spot for walkers and kayakers.
In addition to the cathedral, attractions in the city include the 14th century Tower Gate, the Celtic Old Cross
and a number of art galleries. St David's is also a popular base for walking
and water sports. It has several hotel
s and a youth hostel, and a number of pubs. The entire coastline around St David's forms part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
.
The St David's lifeboat
, located at St Justinian, has saved an estimated 360 lives since the first lifeboat was located there in 1869; and four heroic lifeboatmen have perished in the cause of saving others. The Irish Sea
area includes a large number of offshore rocks and islands and is notorious for strong tides.
, was inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards, a historic order of Druids.
The St David's Penknife Club is a group of people dedicated to voluntary fund raising for local groups and charities.
St David's has a rugby union
club, St. Davids RFC
, which competes in the SWALEC League Five West.
Whitesands Bay, about two miles west of St. David's, is a popular watersports resort. It has been described as the best surfing
beach in Pembrokeshire and one of the best tourist beaches in the world.
, mentor
of King Alfred the Great, and writer of his biography, was a monk at St David's before being called into Alfred's service.
Henry Hicks
(1837-1899), eminent surgeon and geologist, was born at St David's and practised there from 1862 until 1871.
Thomas Tomkins
(1572-1656), eminent English musician and composer, was born in St David's.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
and community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
in Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Lying on the River Alun
River Alun, Pembrokeshire
The River Alun is a small river in northwestern Pembrokeshire, West Wales which rises near Tretio Common and flows southwestwards past the city of St David's to empty into St Bride's Bay at the rocky inlet of Porth Clais.- References :...
on St David's Peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David
Saint David
Saint David was a Welsh Bishop during the 6th century; he was later regarded as a saint and as the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and a relatively large amount of information is known about his life. However, his birth date is still uncertain, as suggestions range from 462 to...
, the country's patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of Wales.
History and attractions
The area was originally known in the Welsh languageWelsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
as Mynyw and in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
as Menevia, and was later renamed in honour of David. The city is built around St David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.-Early history:The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in AD589...
which was a popular place of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Next to it, the 14th century Bishop's Palace is a ruin maintained by Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
and open to visitors. St David's was once a marcher
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
borough. In 1603 the antiquarian George Owen described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve
Portreeve
A portreeve, or 'port warden' is a historical British political appointment with a fluctuating role which evolved over time.The origins of the position are in the reign of Edward the Elder, who, in order to ensure that taxes were correctly exacted, forbade the conducting of trades outside of a...
.
Tradition states that Saint David was born to Saint Non
Saint Non
Non was, according to Christian tradition, the mother of Saint David , the patron saint of Wales.-Legend:...
at what is now St Non's, a ten-minute walk south of the city, in about AD 500. It is also said that he was baptised at Porthclais
Porthclais
Porthclais is the small sheltered inlet port near St David's, a small city in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.Porthclais harbour was built in the 12th century and served nearby St. Davids, importing coal and timber. The entire harbour is within the St. David’s Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest...
, now the city's port, was brought up by his mother at Llanon
Llanon
Llanon is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It adjoins the village of Llansantffraed on the coast of Cardigan Bay, five miles north of Aberaeron and south of Aberystwyth on the A487 road. It is built on a raised beach....
, and that he founded the city in around 550. Pope Calixtus II reportedly decreed that two pilgrimages to St David's were equivalent to one to Rome. Because of this a vast income was raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Saint Non's Well overlooks the Pembrokeshire Coast Path
Pembrokeshire Coast Path
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is a National Trail in southwest Wales. It was established in 1970, and is 186 miles long, mostly at cliff-top level, with 35,000 feet of ascent and descent. The northern end is at Poppit Sands, near St...
and St Brides Bay. The Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
cliffs make this a popular spot for walkers and kayakers.
In addition to the cathedral, attractions in the city include the 14th century Tower Gate, the Celtic Old Cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
and a number of art galleries. St David's is also a popular base for walking
Walking
Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...
and water sports. It has several hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s and a youth hostel, and a number of pubs. The entire coastline around St David's forms part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales.It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline...
.
The St David's lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
, located at St Justinian, has saved an estimated 360 lives since the first lifeboat was located there in 1869; and four heroic lifeboatmen have perished in the cause of saving others. The Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
area includes a large number of offshore rocks and islands and is notorious for strong tides.
Culture and sport
The city hosted the National Eisteddfod in 2002. The Archbishop-designate of Canterbury, Dr Rowan WilliamsRowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, was inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards, a historic order of Druids.
The St David's Penknife Club is a group of people dedicated to voluntary fund raising for local groups and charities.
St David's has a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club, St. Davids RFC
St. Davids RFC
St. Davids Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the city of St. Davids in Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets....
, which competes in the SWALEC League Five West.
Whitesands Bay, about two miles west of St. David's, is a popular watersports resort. It has been described as the best surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
beach in Pembrokeshire and one of the best tourist beaches in the world.
Notable people
AsserAsser
Asser was a Welsh monk from St David's, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join the circle of learned men whom Alfred was recruiting for his court...
, mentor
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
of King Alfred the Great, and writer of his biography, was a monk at St David's before being called into Alfred's service.
Henry Hicks
Henry Hicks (geologist)
Henry Hicks, MRCS, FRS was a Welsh physician, surgeon, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons , geologist, President of the Geological Society and Fellow of the Royal Society...
(1837-1899), eminent surgeon and geologist, was born at St David's and practised there from 1862 until 1871.
Thomas Tomkins
Thomas Tomkins
Thomas Tomkins was an English composer of the late Tudor and early Stuart period. In addition to being one of the prominent members of the English madrigal school, he was a skilled composer of keyboard and consort music, and the last member of the English virginalist school.-Life:Tomkins was born...
(1572-1656), eminent English musician and composer, was born in St David's.
See also
- Saint David's DaySaint David's DaySaint David's Day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March each year. The date of 1 March was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David. Tradition holds that he died on that day in 589...
- Chapel of St NonChapel of St Nonthumb|right|St Non's ChapelThe Chapel of St Non is located on the coast near St David's in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Held by tradition to mark the birthplace of St David, the ruin cannot be accurately dated but is unusual in that it is aligned north-south rather than the usual east-west. Near to...
- Annales CambriaeAnnales CambriaeAnnales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, is the name given to a complex of Cambro-Latin chronicles deriving ultimately from a text compiled from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales, not later than the 10th century...
- Bishop of St David'sBishop of St David'sThe Bishop of St David's is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St David's in Pembrokeshire, founding St David's Cathedral. The current Bishop of St...
- Diocese of St David's
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia
Further reading
- O'Malley, Brian Brendan, comp. (1985) A Pilgrim's Manual: St. David's. Marlborough: Paulinus Press ISBN 0 907740 13 8
External links
- St Davids City Council
- St David's at www.visitpembrokeshire.com (official council tourism website)