St. David's Cathedral

~ Dyfed, Wales ~

St. David's is one of the great historic shrines of Christendom. Nowhere in Britain is there a more ancient cathedral settlement, for it reaches back fourteen centuries and survived the plunder of the Norsemen in the "Dark Ages".
St. David chose this wild, beautiful region as the site of his monastery in the 6th century and his shrine is in the purple-stoned cathedral, which nestles inconspicuously in a grassy hollow beneath the rooftops of the tiny city of Dyfed.

St. David's Cathedral, dedicated to the national saint of Wales.

The large, cruciform cathedral, dating from 1176, is a treasury of fine things.
The nave has a breathtaking beauty, embodying three centuries of craftsmanship which now make up a scene of medieval splendor.

The presbytery and high altar at St. David's Cathedral

There are superb examples of the woodcarver's art ~ just gaze upwards at the decorative roof ~ and the choir stalls date from the late 15th century.
There is to be seen the wit and zest of the medieval misericord carvings (carvings on the hinged seats in the choir stalls); they represent a trend away from the decorative severity of earlier times, and show that even in religion, humor had its part to play.
A chapel dedicated to St. David's mother, St. Non, stands on a nearby headland.

The seal of Henry de Gower, bishop of St. David's

St. David's Bishop's Palace, Dyfed ~ During the Middle Ages there were few landowners in Wales greater or wealthier than the bishops of St. David's. As well as being princes of the Church, they were Marcher lords in their own right, owing allegiance only to the king.
At their cathedral city these powerful prelates created a group of medieval buildings unsurpassed anywhere west of Offa's Dyke. Even in ruin, the palace is a magnificent architectural splendor, speaking volumes of men rich in experience of both Church and State. The entire cathedral close was surrounded by a precinct wall and one of the four gates, "Porth  y Twr" which dates to about 1300 remains standing. The palace is very largely the work of a succession of "builder bishops" who held the see in the later 13th and 14th centuries.

Edward I and his queen were at St. David's on pilgrimage in 1284, and their visit may well have called attention to the inadequacies of the early medieval palace. About this time, Bishop Thomas Beck (1280-1293) began a program of new building in his role as a major churchman and former statesman of King Edward. He was responsible for the chapel in the southwest corner, the hall and private apartments, and the gate. The bishop's hall and the private chamber were on the first floor. There was a series of corbels carved as human heads, from which sprang the main trusses of the roofs.

The bishop's palace and the cathedral

The man who left his imprint decisively and characteristically on the palace was Bishop Henry de Gower (1328-1347). Note his seal above. In addition to major works in the cathedral itself, it was Gower who built the Great Hall.
He brought a graceful unity to the palace with a distinctive arcaded parapet.

Later bishops made further additions and alterations to the palace, but with the Reformation the story of decay and destruction in the 16th and 17th centuries began.

Background music for this page is an old Welsh tune "David of the White Rock" ~ It is not known if it is related to St. David's, but is included for the musical sense it imparts.

April 28, 1999
Revised Dec. 16, 2003