St Davids Bishop's Palace - Monastery - Wales. Great Britain.
N 51° 52.926 W 005° 16.114
30U E 343862 N 5750357
The remains of the Bishops of St Davids principle Palace, and medieval Monastery are located alongside St Davids Cathedral in a grassy hollow. This would have been the finest collection of buildings in Wales during the medieval period.
Waymark Code: WMHV17
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/14/2013
Views: 3
The Bishops Palace and Monastery were built alongside, St Davids Cathedral,
St Davids became home of the Marcher Lords, and Bishop, It was a site of great strategic importance, and a hugely important religious site, housing relics of St David, the patron Saint of Wales.
"The original monastery was established here by St David in the sixth century.
It was attacked and ransacked at least 10 times by Norse raiders over the next 400 years.
When the Normans arrived in Pembrokeshire in the 11th century, they took over the cathedral and appointed a Norman Bishop.
Realising how vulnerable the cathedral was, they first built a motte and bailey fort, which they later abandoned.
They then built a stone defensive wall around all the cathedral buildings, including the Palace." Text Source: (
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"During the Middle Ages there were few landowners in Wales wealthier than the Bishop's of St Davids. As well as being princes of the church, they were Marcher Lords in their own right, owing allegiance only to the king. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that 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 four gates. Porth y Twr, which dates to about 1300 remains standing. Within, the palace is very largely the work of a succession of 'builder-bishops' who held the see in the later 13th and 14th centuries." Text Source: (
visit link)
Property Address:
St Davids Bishop's Palace,
Pembrokeshire,
Wales.
SA62 6PE
Dates
1 July - 31 August 2013
Times
Daily 9.30am - 6.00pm
Adult admission £3.50