St Davids

Cathedral city in Pembrokeshire, Wales

This article is about the city. For the diocese, see Diocese of St Davids. For the shopping centre in Cardiff, see St David's, Cardiff. For the village in Canada, see St. Davids, Niagara Regional Municipality, Ontario. For the Bermuda island, see St. David's Island, Bermuda.

City in Wales

St Davids

* Welsh: Tyddewi

City
File:StDavidsCathedral.jpg
St Davids Cathedral

St Davids is located in Pembrokeshire

St Davids

St Davids

Location within Pembrokeshire

Area| 17.93 sq mi (46.4 km2) (community)
0.23 sq mi (0.60 km2)
(urban area)
Population| 1,600 [1]
• Density| 89/sq mi (34/km2)
OS grid reference| SM755255
Community|

* St Davids and the Cathedral Close

Principal area|

* Pembrokeshire

Ceremonial county|

* Dyfed

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
UK Parliament|

* Preseli Pembrokeshire

Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament|

* Preseli Pembrokeshire

List of places

Wales
Pembrokeshire

51°52′55″N 5°16′08″W﻿ / ﻿51.882°N 5.269°W﻿ / 51.882; -5.269Coordinates: 51°52′55″N 5°16′08″W﻿ / ﻿51.882°N 5.269°W﻿ / 51.882; -5.269

St Davids or St David's[2][3] (Welsh: Tyddewi, [tiː 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 resting place of Saint David, Wales's patron saint, and named after him. St Davids is the United Kingdom's smallest city in population (just over 1,600 in 2011[1]) and urban area (the smallest city by local authority boundary area being the City of London). St Davids was given city status in the 12th century. This does not derive automatically from criteria, but in England and Wales it was traditionally given to cathedral towns under practices laid down in the early 1540s, when Henry VIII founded dioceses. City status was lost in 1886, but restored in 1994 at the request of Queen Elizabeth II.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Early history
* 1.2 Age of David
* 1.3 Medieval pilgrim site
* 1.4 Decline
* 1.5 Modern city
* 2 Geography
* 3 City status
* 4 Governance
* 5 Culture
* 5.1 Arts
* 5.2 Charity
* 5.3 Sport
* 5.4 Tourism
* 6 Education
* 7 Notable people
* 8 Twin towns
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 Further reading
* 12 External links

## History[edit | edit source]

### Early history[edit | edit source]

File:Men hir (standing stone) near Capel y Santes Non, Tyddewi, Sir Benfro - St Non's Chapel, St Davids, Wales 41.jpg

The landscape around St Davids is scattered with ancient monuments, such as this Menhir near St Non's chapel.

Although the surrounding landscape is home to a number of Palaeolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites, archaeological evidence suggests that Pembrokeshire was not heavily occupied by the Romans. As such, only one or two names in Ptolemy's Geographia have been linked to the whole county.[6]

Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, the area that would become St Davids was known in Ecclesiastical Latin as Meneva or Menevia and in Welsh as Mynyw. Some medieval texts state that the area was home to a cell, church or monastery founded by Saint Patrick around the year 470AD, years before the birth of Saint David.[7]

### Age of David[edit | edit source]

File:River Alun-Afon Alun from the footbridge - geograph.org.uk - 1502526.jpg

The Afon Alun in modern times, where Saint David founded his church and monastery

David is said to have been born to Saint Non around 500AD, at the place where the Chapel of St Non now stands. He was baptised by Saint Elvis at Porthclais, and was brought up by his mother at Llanon. He may also have been educated at the "Ty Gwyn", Whitesands by Saint Paulinus. David is thought to have founded an earlier community somewhere to the west of modern St Davids, before establishing a new church and monastery at a place then known as "Glyn Rhosyn" on the banks of the Afon Alun (where the current Cathedral now stands).[8]

During his life, David gained great fame throughout the Celtic church and was a key figure in the fight against the Pelagian Heresy. At the Synod of Brefi in 545AD, Saint Dubricius (who held two Bishoprics, Caerleon and Llandaff) is said to have freely given David the ancient Metropolitan See of Caerleon.[9] It is also implied that in transferring the See from Caerleon, David also transferred an important royal court. The Welsh Triads name "Mynyw" as the seat of "one of the three Tribal Thrones of the island of Britain" (the other courts being Celliwig and Pen Rhionydd). The entry states that the court had Arthur as Chief Prince, "Dewi" as the Chief Bishop, and "Maelgwn Gwynedd" as Chief Elder.[10] Indeed, Geoffrey of Monmouth, would describe David as "The pious archbishop of Legions, at the city of Menevia."[11]

### Medieval pilgrim site[edit | edit source]

The ecclesiastical settlement would become known as Tyddewi (House of David) and was a famous centre of pilgrimage early in its history, attracting both foreign pilgrims of status and numerous Viking attacks by the ninth century. Its scholastic community was also famous throughout the Celtic world and in Anglo-Saxon England. When Alfred the Great wanted to establish a centre of learning at his court, he requested Asserius Menevensis, (Asser of St Davids) to join them. At that time, Asser had lived all his life at St Davids, being raised, tonsured, trained and ordained there. Yet Alfred's desire to secure his service was such that he acquiesced to a number of delays and requests before finally agreeing that Asser could split his time between Alfred's court and St David's.[12][13]

The cult of Saint David was actively encouraged by the Cathedral's pre-Norman Bishops, especially Sulien and Rhigyfarch, who would write Vita sancti Davidis episcopi, the standard Vita of the saint.[14]

File:Speed St David's insert.jpg

St Davids depicted on Speed's 1610 map of Wales

As the Normans advanced into Pembrokeshire, the city became a marcher borough, and the new hundred was named "Dewisland". The cathedral was rebuilt during the Norman era and much of the earliest sections that are still extant, date back to the twelfth century. However, it is thought that this cathedral would have followed the layout of medieval structure and it continued to host its many ancient relics, including the remains of David.[15]

At its height, the city was visited by many pilgrims, including noblemen and kings such as William the Conqueror in 1077, Henry II in 1171, and Edward I and Queen Eleanor in 1284.[7] Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome ("Roma semel quantum dat bis Menevia tantum"). This allowed a vast income to be raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages.[16]

### Decline[edit | edit source]

The Reformation saw both the income and importance of St Davids begin to fade as pilgrimages fell out of favour, this was followed by a number of Bishops who were seemingly less and less concerned with the welfare of the Cathedral or the city. Perhaps most infamously, Bishop William Barlow sold the lead from the roof of the Bishop's Palace In 1536, beginning a long period of neglect for St Davids.[17]

Barlow had the Bishop's chief residence moved to Abergwili, Carmarthenshire in 1542 and St Davids continued to decline. In 1603, the antiquarian George Owen described the city as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve.[18] The seventeenth century, saw two separate bishops apply for licences to demolish some of the cities ancient buildings, and the Bishop's palace was now considered "beyond repair".[19]

By the 19th century, only the Cathedral itself seemed to retain the city's former glory, as described in the Penny Cyclopaedia:[7]

> 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.

### Modern city[edit | edit source]

File:St Davids 1971 - geograph.org.uk - 2806125.jpg

Cross Square, St Davids in 1971

The unique nature of the Cathedral and the city was evident as late as the twentieth century. Following the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, the Cathedral Close was allowed to operate as its own civil parish, separate from that of the adjacent city for the next 50 years.

With better transport links and the advent of tourism, the city prospered once more in the later twentieth century, with the city's 210 listed buildings making it a destination for walkers, tourists and modern pilgrims.[20] Many of the ancient buildings, including the Bishop's Palace are today, maintained by Cadw and open to the public.[21]

## Geography[edit | edit source]

File:StDavids-map.svg

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.

Community/city boundaries

Main settlement area

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 community includes the former chapelries at St Justinian and Gwrhyd.[22] 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.[23] The Irish Sea includes a large number of offshore rocks and islands and is notorious for strong tides.[24] 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,[25] is in the neighbouring community of Solva. The highest point is Carn Llidi at 181 metres (594 ft).

There are several isolated hamlets in the community:

* Berea
* Caerfarchell
* Carnhedryn
* Fachelich/Vachelich[26]
* 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, is the largest.
* Carreg Yr Esgob
* Carreg Fran
* Ynys Eilun
* Ynys Bery

The islands below are part of the Bishop And Clerks grouping, and were included in 1987:[27]

* 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 four miles (six kilometres).

## City status[edit | edit source]

See also: City status in the United Kingdom and List of smallest cities in the United Kingdom

In the 16th century a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits along with a royal charter or borough privileges, but this link was abolished in 1888,[28] and amid prior borough reorganisation (see Governance below),[29] 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".[28] The letters patent conferring city status were issued on 16 September 1994.[30] The following year the Queen visited to formally present the letters patent in a ceremony at St Davids Cathedral on 1 June 1995.[31]

The award of city status is typically granted to a local authority,[32] 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 within 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 mean that several UK cities are smaller in area, with the City of London being the smallest at 1.12 sq mi (2.9 km2). In Wales, St Davids is the third smallest after the community areas of St Asaph with 2.49 sq mi (6.4 km2) and Bangor with 2.79 sq mi (7.2 km2).

## Governance[edit | edit source]

File:St Davids City Hall geograph-4086887-by-Jaggery.jpg

St Davids City Hall

St Davids became a borough in 1115,[33] when Bernard, the first Norman Bishop of St Davids, was granted a charter by Henry I designating the lands of Dewisland as a Marcher Lordship.[34]

This gave Bernard wide-reaching powers over this realm, with his headquarters remaining initially at St Davids. However, subsequent Marcher Bishops came to base the administration of Dewisland, including the exchequer, chancery and court, in Llawhaden by the 13th century.[35][34] King Henry VIII then passed the Laws in Wales Acts, which in 1535 and 1542 abolished the status of Marcher Lordships. Dewisland was merged with the adjacent Lordship of Kemes and the surrounding Lordship of Pembroke to form Pembrokeshire, of which Dewisland became a hundred. In 1835 a report from government commissioners investigating municipal corporations determined:

> THE city and parish of St. David's is situate in the manor of Dewisland. The Bishop of St. David's is Lord of the Manor; and it appears that an officer, called the mayor, is annually appointed by the steward, whose duty is to collect certain chief rents to the bishop. The mayor assumes to take certain small tolls by virtue of his office: his right to do this is disputed, but the tolls being very trifling, are frequently paid. The mayor is merely an officer of the Manor Court. A belief exists amongst some of the inhabitants that the city was once a corporation; but there are no burgesses, charter, or other vestige of municipal institutions. The belief has probably arisen from the lord's officer being called a mayor.[36][37]

Under this summary, the borough was considered within the report as "municipal in name only", and non-parliamentary.[38] Any remaining legalities pertaining to the city were removed in 1886, when these were abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1883, with its corporation deemed to be long extinct, and the very small population (1,025 residents in 1835)[38] not helping its cause in an age where boroughs with unrepresentative populations were being singled out for reform. This act, 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.[29] The subsequent renewal of the status in 1994 (see City Status above) and the reasons then given conclude that the status was in place until 1886.

The borough lay across two parishes, and by the time of the creation of registration districts in 1837 these were:[39][40] the Cathedral Close of St. David's – the close surrounding the cathedral and associated church buildings; and St Davids – the rest of the city and rural areas. These were split from the church into civil parishes during 1866, electing secular councillors from 1894, 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, which has twelve councillors.[41] The City Council employs one City Clerk and one Financial Officer.[41] In June 2020 the council elected its first Sikh mayor, Councillor Bira Sehmi, believed also to be the first Sikh mayor in Wales.[42] The council is based at St Davids City Hall on High Street, which was completed in 1924.[43]

The parishes were part of Haverfordwest rural sanitary district from 1872, and when parish and district councils were established in 1894 the two parishes were included in the Haverfordwest Rural District. In 1974 the two parishes were changed into communities and placed in Preseli district.[44] 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[edit | edit source]

### Arts[edit | edit source]

File:Flag of Saint David.svg

The Flag of Saint David (Baner Dewi Sant)

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.[45]

### Charity[edit | edit source]

The St Davids Penknife Club is a group of people dedicated to voluntary fund raising for local groups and charities.[46]

### Sport[edit | edit source]

St Davids has a rugby union club, St. Davids RFC, which competes in the Welsh Rugby Union League West.[47]

### Tourism[edit | edit source]

In addition to the cathedral and 210[48] other listed ancient buildings and structures, notable features of the city and community 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.[citation needed] In 2019 Consumers' Association members placed St Davids in the top three best value beach destinations in Britain.[49] Whitesands Bay, about two miles (three kilometres) 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.[50]

## Education[edit | edit source]

Ysgol Dewi Sant (St David's School) is the local secondary school covering years 7–13 (aged 11–18).[51] Ysgol Bro Dewi (Dewisland School) is a Voluntary Controlled Primary School, with pupils from Reception to Year 6.

## Notable people[edit | edit source]

The following were born in St Davids:

* Asser (died c. 909), a monk at St Davids who was mentor to King Alfred the Great and wrote his biography[52]
* William Barlow (died 1625), an expert on magnetism and Anglican cleric whose father, also William Barlow, served as bishop in 1536–1548.[53]
* Kieran Evans (born 1969), a film director and screenwriter[54]
* Wilfrith Green (1872–1937), a brigadier-general who served in the British and Indian armies[citation needed]
* Henry Hicks (1837–1899), a surgeon and geologist who practised there from 1862 until 1871[55]
* Jasmine Joyce (born 1995), a player for Wales women's national rugby union sevens and the British women's sevens team at the 2016 Summer Olympics[56]
* Rowland Phillips (born 1965), a rugby union player for Wales and later rugby league for Wales and Great Britain[57]
* Thomas Tomkins (1572–1656), a musician and composer[58]
* Ian Walsh (born 1958), a Wales national association football player[59]

## Twin towns[edit | edit source]

St Davids is twinned with:[60]

* File:Flag of Ireland.svg Naas, Ireland
* File:Flag of France.svg Orléat, France
* File:Flag of Lesotho.svg Matsieng, Lesotho

## See also[edit | edit source]

* Saint David's Day
* Chapel of St Non
* Annales Cambriae
* Bishop of St Davids
* Diocese of St Davids
* City status in the United Kingdom
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ a b "St Davids, Holiday Cottages, Hotels, Camping & Things To Do". www.visitpembrokeshire.com.
2. ^ Parish Headcounts for Pembrokeshire Archived 10 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine (based on 2001 Census) at Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
3. ^ As specified in New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors OUP 2005\. The name is often spelt without a possessive apostrophe, even by St Davids City Council Archived 1 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ "GENUKI: St David's". Retrieved 4 November 2020.
5. ^ a b "The Preseli (Communities) Order 1987". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018. "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;"
6. ^ Merrony, Mark (10 November 2019). "Some Thoughts on the Romanization of Pembrokeshire". Pembrokeshire Historical Society Cymdeithas Hanesyddol Sir Penfro. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
7. ^ a b c Anon (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.
8. ^ Jones, Rhys James (28 February 1994). "Saint David and Saint David's Day". Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
9. ^ Toke, Leslie Alexander St. Lawrence (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4.
10. ^ Rachel Bromwich (editor and translator), Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads, second edition (Cardiff: University of Wales, 1978), Triad 1.
11. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Dubric". www.newadvent.org.
12. ^ Asser, John (2004). Alfred the Great : Asser's Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141909424.
13. ^ Keynes & Lapidge. Alfred the Great. pp. 93–94.
14. ^ Howlett, David (2011). Gameson, Richard (ed.). 'Rhygyfarch ap Sulien and Ieuan ap Sulien', in The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, Volume 1: c. 400-1100. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 701–706.
15. ^ Driver, Toby (2008). "4". Pembrokeshire : historic landscapes from the air (Rev ed.). Aberystwyth: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru/Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. ISBN 9781871184334. "The westernmost peninsula of Pembrokeshire is dominated by the city and cathedral close of St Davids, spiritual home of the patron saint of Wales, which has stood as a place of religious sanctity and pilgrimage for well over a millennium. In medieval times it was said that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equal to one to Rome. The site of St David's original early Christian community, thought to have lain west of the city, has long been lost to history and archaeology and has passed into the realms of legend. This early community was short-lived, however, and was soon moved inland to the banks of the River Alun where the cathedral stands today. By the ninth century St Davids or Menevia was a famous Welsh monastery and a cult centre for followers of the famous saint. While the earliest sections of the cathedral date back only to the twelfth century, it is thought likely that the layout of the medieval cathedral close wall may have followed the line of the pre-existing religious enclosure."
16. ^ St David's day, Pembrokeshire Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at History.UK.com, 16 February 2003. Retrieved on 1 August 2011
17. ^ Boden, Anthony (2005). Thomas Tomkins: the last Elizabethan. Aldershot: Ashgate Pub. Co. p. 18\. ISBN 0-7546-5118-5.
18. ^ George Owen, The Description of Penbrokshire by George Owen of Henllys Lord of Kemes, Henry Owen, ed., London, 1892.
19. ^ "Coflein". Coflein. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
20. ^ "British Listed Buildings: St David's and the Cathedral Close". Retrieved 25 February 2021.
21. ^ "St Davids Bishop's Palace". Retrieved 8 August 2022.
22. ^ "Penbrok comitat". British Library.
23. ^ St Davids Lifeboat Station: Introduction Archived 2011-08-11 at the Wayback Machine at Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Accessed 1 August 2011.
24. ^ St Davids Lifeboat Station Archived 2011-08-22 at the Wayback Machine at Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Accessed 1 August 2011.
25. ^ "Dyfed Archaeological Trust: St David's Airfield". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
26. ^ "RCAHMW: Historic place names: Vachelich". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
27. ^ "The Preseli (Communities) Order 1987". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018. "Communities (6) the Bishops and Clerks shall be included in the new community of St. Davids and the Cathedral Close"
28. ^ a b Beckett, J. V. (2005). City status in the British Isles, 1830–2002. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 22\. ISBN 9780754650676. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
29. ^ a b "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. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2019. "St. David's in Wales lost City Status through local government re-organisation at the end of the 19th century"
30. ^ "Crown Office". London Gazette (53798): 13403. 23 September 1994. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
31. ^ Alderson, Alf (3 March 2001). "The small city with the big kicks". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
32. ^ "Corby City Bid" (PDF). 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."
33. ^ "PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT SITE NUN STREET, ST DAVIDS, PEMBROKESHIRE: HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT APPRAISAL" (PDF). haystonplanning.co.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018. "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."
34. ^ a b Judgement in Crown Estate Commissioners v (1) Mark Andrew Tudor Roberts (2) Trelleck Estate Ltd: ChD (Mr Justice Lewison), 13 June 2008
35. ^ Brian Howells, Pembrokeshire County History, Volume 2, Haverfordwest, 2002, p. 148.
36. ^ Report on City of St Davids. First report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the municipal corporations in England and Wales. p. 358.
37. ^ "St Davids Genealogy Resources & Parish Registers | Pembrokeshire". forebears.io. "The city [St Davids] is not incorporated, but there is an officer called a mayor or bailiff of court leet, whose duties consist only in collecting the chief rents belonging to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners within the limits of the city, which is co-extensive with the township or division called "Cylch-y-Dref", and to see that no encroachments are made on a common which the inhabitants hold under an old lease from the bishop and chapter; he is therefore merely an officer of the manor court, and the existing belief that the city was once a corporation appears to rest on no trustworthy authority, since "there are no burgesses, charter, or other vestige of municipal institutions.""
38. ^ a b Appendix – Table 2 – Boroughs – Municipal not parliamentary (30 March 1835). First Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England And Wales. London: C. Knight, 183540. p. 58.
39. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
40. ^ "Haverfordwest Registration District". Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
41. ^ a b "City Council". stdavids.gov.uk.
42. ^ "Cllr Bira Sehmi elected first Sikh mayor of St Davids and possibly all of Wales". Tivy-side Advertiser. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
43. ^ "Walk 17: St Davids Circular: A Pembrokeshire Pilgrimage from the UK's smallest city". Northamptonshire Walks. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
44. ^ "Haverfordwest RSD through time | Census tables with data for the Sanitary District". visionofbritain.org.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
45. ^ St Davids and St Davids Cathedral, Pembrokeshire Archived 7 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Wales in Style. Accessed on 1 August 2011
46. ^ "St Davids Penknife Club". Retrieved 3 July 2011.
47. ^ SWALEC League Six West Archived 18 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine at Welsh Rugby Union
48. ^ "British Listed Buildings: St David's and the Cathedral Close". Retrieved 25 February 2021.
49. ^ "Best value British beach towns". Consumers Association. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
50. ^ "Pembrokeshire County Council". 19 September 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
51. ^ "The Curriculum". Ysgol Dewi Sant website. 2014. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
52. ^ A'Becket, John Joseph (1907). "John Asser" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1\. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
53. ^ Joseph Foster, ed. (1891). "Baal-Barrow". British History Online. Oxford: Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714. pp. 51–78. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
54. ^ "Bafta win for Pembrokeshire-born director Kieran Evans". BBC. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
55. ^ Bonney 1901.
56. ^ "Rio 2016: Wales' biggest overseas Olympic contingent ready for opening ceremony". BBC Sport. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
57. ^ "Rowland David Phillips". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
58. ^ Davies, W. Ll. (1959). TOMKINS family, musicians. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
59. ^ "Ian WALSH – League appearances – Crystal Palace FC". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
60. ^ "St Davids City Council – Twin towns". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2014.

Attribution

* File:Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bonney, Thomas George (1901). "Hicks, Henry". Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.

## Further reading[edit | edit source]

* Brian Brendan O'Malley, compiler (1985), A Pilgrim's Manual: St Davids. Marlborough: Paulinus Press ISBN 0-907740-13-8

## External links[edit | edit source]

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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for [[Wikivoyage:St Davids#Template:Wikidata|St Davids]].

* St Davids City Council
* St Davids at www.visitpembrokeshire.com Archived 8 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine (official council tourism website)
* Further historical, genealogical and ecclesiastical information and sources on GENUKI
* St Davids at Curlie

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