St Davids Cathedral - Pembrokshire, Wales, Great Britain.
N 51° 52.916 W 005° 16.119
30U E 343856 N 5750338
Built upon the site of St David's 6th century monastery St Davids Cathedral has been a site of pilgrimage and worship for 1500 hundred years. Located in St David's, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Waymark Code: WMHK6A
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/18/2013
Views: 6
"To understand part of the reason St. Davids is so special, you have to know a little about the history of the area. St. David is the patron saint of Wales. Legend claims he was born around 500 A.D. on the rugged Pembrokeshire coast of southwest Wales. He was the founder of a strict monastic order in the town that bears his name, and was the most influential clergyman in all Wales during the "Age of Saints." His place of birth and the cathedral built in his name became one of the most important shrines of medieval Christendom - two pilgrimages to St. Davids equaling one to Rome. Important sites at St. Davids include the cathedral and ruined Bishop's Palace, along with St. Non's Church and Well. St. Non was St. David's mother.
St Davids 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 Norsmen in the 'Dark Ages'. St David chose this wild, beautiful region as the site of his monastery in the 6th century and you will find his shrine in the purple-stoned cathedral, which nestles inconspicuously in a grassy hollow beneath the rooftops of the tiny city.
The large, cruciform cathedral, dating from 1176, is a treasury of fine things. The nave has a breath-taking beauty, embodying three centuries of craftsmanship which now make up a scene of medieval splendour. There are superb examples of the woodcarver's art in St David's - just gaze upwards at the decorative roof - and the choir stalls date from the late 15th century. Here, note the wit and zest of the medieval mericord 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." Text Source: (
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Cathedral Web Site. (
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