David (Dewi), St (d. c.601). Bishop of Menevia (St Davids), and patron saint of Wales. All accounts of him are based on the c.1090 biography by Rhygyfarch (Ricemarch). According to the legend David's birth was predicted by St Patrick. David was born in Ceredigion to St Non, a nun who had been ravished by Sant (David's father), and there is a tenuous connection to the Cunedda family. He became a pupil of Paulinus (possibly St Paul of Leon), and is reputed to have worked miracles. He finally settled at Mynyw (St Davids) and began a life of intense austerity. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, David attended the Synod of Brefi, and was elected primate of the Cambrian church with his see at Mynyw. His cult was well established by the 11th cent. and at least 60 churches were dedicated to him by 1200. David was canonized in 1120.
Saint David's
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Coordinates: 51°52′55″N 5°16′08″W / 51.882°N 5.269°W
| St David's | |
| Welsh: Tyddewi | |
  St David's
 St David's shown within Wales |
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| Population | 1,797 (2001 census[1]) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| 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 |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Preseli Pembrokeshire |
| Welsh Assembly | Preseli Pembrokeshire |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Pembrokeshire | |
St David's and the Cathedral Close, more commonly known as St David's[2][3][4] (Welsh: Tyddewi), is a recognised city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. With a population of 1,797 in 2001, it is the smallest city in the United Kingdom.[5] Lying on the River Alyn on Saint David's peninsula, the city is the de facto ecclesiastical capital of Wales and the final resting place of Saint David, country's patron saint.
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History and attractions
The area was originally known in the Welsh language as Mynyw or Menevia in Latin and was later renamed in honour of David. The city is built around St David's Cathedral, which in the Middle Ages was a popular place of pilgrimage. Next to it, the 14th-century Bishop's Palace is a ruin maintained by Cadw and open to visitors. It was once a marcher borough. In 1603 the antiquarian George Owen described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve.[6]
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, and that he founded the city in around 550. Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids was equal to one to Rome. Because of this a vast income was raised by visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages.[7] 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.
Other than the cathedral, attractions in the city include the 13th 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 hotels and a youth hostel, and a number of pubs.
St David's is the only city in the United Kingdom to lie entirely in a national park,[8] the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and it lies near the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
The St David's lifeboat, located at St Justinian, has saved numerous lives since the first lifeboat was located there in 1869. Indeed a number of heroic lifeboatmen here have lost theirs in pursuit of saving others. The dangers are due in the main to the treacherous reefs and formations off the coast together with the unpredictable Irish Sea conditions.[citation needed]
The entire coastline around St David's forms part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
Local agriculture has declined in recent years, with the once buoyant crop of Pembrokeshire first early new potatoes having largely died out due to pressure from the supermarkets.[citation needed]
St Davids Eco City Group aims to make St Davids the first carbon neutral city in the world.[9]
The City is also twinned with Naas in the Republic of Ireland
Sport and leisure
St David's is home to rugby union team St. Davids RFC.
St David's hosted the National Eisteddfod in 2002.
People from St David's
Henry Hicks (born 1837-died 1899), a Welsh physician, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS), President of the Geological Society and Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). He studied the Precambrian rocks of Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Pembrokeshire, the Devonian rocks of Devon and Somerset, and cave deposits in Denbighshire. He was born on the 29th of May 1837 at St Davids, followed in the footsteps of his father Thomas Hicks and studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, and then practised in St Davids from 1862 until 1871. The musician David Gray was a pupil at St Davids School.
References
- ^ Office for National Statistics Parish Headcounts: St David's and the Cathedral Close
- ^ Census 2001
- ^ St Davids City Council
- ^ Ordnance Survey
- ^ Census 2001
- ^ Owen, George, The Description of Penbrokshire by George Owen of Henllys Lord of Kemes, Henry Owen (Ed), London, 1892
- ^ history.uk.com: St Davids day, Pembrokeshire Retrieved on 2008-02-16
- ^ bbc.co.uk: Wales history Retrieved on 2008-02-16
- ^ Eco City St Davids
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: St David's |
External links
- St Davids City Council
- St David's at www.visitpembrokeshire.com
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of St Davids and surrounding area
- Eco City St Davids
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 | Saint David (Welsh theologian) |
| Dewi Sant |
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 | British History. A Dictionary of British History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Saint David (Welsh theologian)
- Dewi Sant
- Moonlighting (1985 Comedy Drama TV Series)
- Welsh Assembly building (British postage stamps)
