St David Wales

St Davids Cathedral :-

The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in 589. Between 645 and 1097, the community was attacked many times by raiders, including the Vikings, however it was of such note as both a religious and intellectual centre that King Alfred summoned help from the monastic community at St Davids in rebuilding the intellectual life of the Kingdom of Wessex. Many of the bishops were murdered by raiders and marauders, including Bishop Moregenau in 999 and Bishop Abraham in 1080. The stone that marked his grave, known as the "Abraham Stone", is intricately carved with early Celtic symbols and now on permanent display within the Cathedral Exhibition at Porth-y-Tŵr.
In 1081, William the Conqueror visited St Davids to pray, and thus recognised it as a holy and respected place. In 1089, the shrine of David was vandalised and stripped of its precious metals. In 1090, the Welsh scholar Rhigyfarch wrote his Latin Life of David, highlighting David's sanctity, thus beginning the almost cult-like status he achieved.
In 1115, with the area under Norman control, King Henry I of England appointed Bishop Bernard as Bishop of St Davids. He began to improve life within the community, and commenced construction of a new cathedral. In 1123, Pope Calixtus II granted Bishop Bernard's request to bestow a papal privilege upon St Davids, making it a centre of pilgrimage for the Western world, the Pope decreeing that "Two pilgrimages to St Davids is equal to one to Rome, and three pilgrimages to one to Jerusalem".^[1] The new cathedral was quickly constructed and Bishop Bernard consecrated it in 1131. Henry II of England's visit in 1171 saw the following of David increase and the need for a larger cathedral.
The present cathedral was begun in 1181 and completed not long after. Problems beset the new building and the community in its infancy, the collapse of the new tower in 1220 and earthquake damage in 1247/48.

 

Under Bishop Gower (1328–1347) the cathedral was modified further, with the rood screen and the Bishops Palace intended as permanent reminders of his episcopacy. (The palace is now a picturesque ruin.)
In 1365, Bishop Adam Houghton and John of Gaunt began to build St Mary's College and a chantry. He later added the cloister, which connects it to the cathedral.^[2]
The episcopacy of Edward Vaughan (1509–1522) saw the building of the Holy Trinity chapel, with its fan vaulting which some^[who?] say inspired the roof of King’s College, Cambridge. This period also saw great developments for the nave, whose roof and Irish oak ceiling were constructed between 1530-40. Bishop Barlow, unlike his predecessor as bishop, wished to suppress the following of David, and stripped St David's shrine of its jewels and confiscated the relics of St David and St Justinian in order to counteract "superstition" in 1538. In 1540, the body of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and father of Henry VII, was brought to be entombed in front of the high altar from the dissolved Greyfriars' Priory in Carmarthen.
The establishment of the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell had great effect on many cathedrals and churches, particularly felt in St Davids. The cathedral was all but destroyed by Cromwell’s forces and the lead was stripped from the Bishops Palace roof.

 

 

The Welsh architect John Nash was commissioned to restore the west front in 1793 to repair the damage done two hundred years previously. Eclectic in style (with Gothic and Perpendicular characteristics - the latter attributed partly to his destruction of the windows of the chapel of St Mary's College in order to reuse that tracery for his west front), his work soon proved to be substandard (as had his previous work on the chapter house). Within a century the Nash west front had become unstable and the whole building was restored by George Gilbert Scott between 1862 and 1870. The lady chapel was restored by public subscription in 1901 and the eastern chapels were restored through a legacy of the Countess of Maidstone between 1901 and 1910.
The cathedral suffered the pains of disestablishment in 1923, as did the whole Church in Wales. The diocese was made smaller by the removal of the Archdeaconry of Brecon to form the new Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. However, this left a large area as a diocese to govern and St Davids began to deteriorate as the centre of the diocese, being nowhere near the centre – the bishop’s residence had been at Carmarthen since the 16th century, but administration and the focus moved from the cathedral to the diocese's now largest town.
The 1950s saw the appointment of the Reverend Carl Witton-Davies as dean; appointed in his thirties, his driving vision and energy was short-lived as he was offered what some was believed as a preferment as Archdeacon of Oxford, but did not leave that position for the rest of his service in the church. The cathedral began to have life again and the famous Welsh Youth Pilgrimages to St Davids (Cymry'r Groes) led many to a life of service in the church and provided the Church in Wales with inspired clergy for a decade following.
The 1960s saw the restoration of St Mary’s College as the cathedral hall, for the use of the cathedral parish and for use as an area for art exhibitions and poetry readings. It was dedicated by Archbishop Edwin Morris in 1966 and the inaugural event was a poetry reading by the renowned poet R. S. Thomas, who served as a vicar in the Bangor diocese.
During the 1980s a number of official events in cathedral life took place: in 1981, Charles, Prince of Wales visited to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral; and on Maundy Thursday 1982, Queen Elizabeth II distributed the Royal Maundy at the cathedral. This was the first occasion that the ceremony had taken place outside England. In 1989–90, the 1400th anniversary of the death of St David was presided over by the Archbishop of Wales, George Noakes, who was also diocesan Bishop of St Davids.
The decades leading to and immediately following the year 2000 have been the most notable in the cathedral's history since its construction. Firstly, the British Government decided to reinstate the title of "city" to St Davids and this was formally conferred by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 June 1995. The task that lay before the dean, the Very Reverend Wyn Evans, on his appointment in 1994 was huge: a new organ was badly needed and the west front needed extensive restoration. It was also thought time that the cathedral invested in its future by creating a visitor centre within the bell tower, enlarging the peal of bells from eight to ten and by the "reconstruction", or completion, of the cathedral cloisters to house the cathedral choir, vestries, an education suite, rooms for parish use and a refectory as a reminder of the monastic beginnings. The first project was the restoration of the west front, with the original quarry that was used for stone at Caerbwdi Bay being reopened. This phase was completed in 1998, in time for the organ to be dismantled and rebuilt by the organ builders Harrison and Harrison of Durham. The organ was completed in the middle months of 2000 and dedicated on 15 October that year.
The ring of bells was cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry of London and presented as a gift by the American Friends of St Davids Cathedral. The substantial task of rebuilding the cloisters as an education centre and refectory began in 2003 and was completed in May 2007. The translation of Wyn Evans from dean to bishop led to the appointment of Jonathan Lean as dean in 2009.
The bells are not hung in the central tower of the cathedral but in the old gatehouse, Porth y Twr. There are 10 bells with the heaviest weighing 24 long cwt 3 qr 25 lb (2,797 lb or 1,269 kg) in D, the back eight bells were cast in 1928 by Mears & Stainbank, London and two trebles added in 2000 cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London. The restored Shrine of St David was unveiled and re-dedicated by the Right Reverend Wyn Evans, Bishop of St Davids, at a Choral Eucharist on St Davids Day 2012.
There are at least three services said or sung per day, each week, with sung services on five out of seven days.
The cathedral choir at St Davids was the first cathedral choir in the United Kingdom to use girls and men as the main choir, rather than boys and men. (Salisbury Cathedral introduced boys and girls earlier on an equal basis, whereas St Davids uses girls as their "main" cathedral choristers.) There is also a boys' choir whose weekly Evensong is a major event within the cathedral week. They sing with the vicars choral regularly.
The St Davids Cathedral Festival runs through the Whitsun school holiday each year and showcases some of the world's best performers. The week sees performers, both professional and young, play in front of thousands. The cathedral choir serve as a highlight each year, being a very popular concert, as well as the Festival Chorus and Orchestra who perform a major work on the final night of the festival.
Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis) in the 13th century relates the strange story of a marble footbridge leading from the church over the Alun rivulet in St Davids. The marble stone was called "Llechllafar" ("the talking stone") because it once spoke when a corpse was carried over it to the cemetery for interment. The effort of speech had caused it to break, despite its size of ten feet in length, six in breadth and one in thickness. This bridge was worn smooth due to its age and the thousands of people who had walked over it, however the superstition was so great that corpses were no longer carried over it. This ancient bridge was replaced in the 16th century and its present whereabouts is not known.
Another legend is that Merlin had prophesied the death on Llechllafar of an English king, conqueror of Ireland, who had been injured by a man with a red hand. King Henry II, whilst on a pilgrimage to Saint Davids, having come over from Ireland, heard of the prophecy and crossed Llechllafar without ill effect. He boasted that Merlin was a liar, to which a bystander replied that the King would not conquer Ireland and was therefore not the king of the prophecy. This turned out to be true, for Henry never did conquer the whole of  Ireland.     We have a group of trained volunteers, who are happy to guide visitors and pilgrims around the Cathedral. Please see the Ty'r Pererin page for more information. Contact: Please contact the Cathedral Office for further assistance or you can e-mail info@stdavidscathedral.org.uk - Please see the notices in the South Porch and the Weekly Pew Sheet

Normal pattern of worship

1st Sunday of every month
8.00am Holy Communion
9.30am Cymun Bendigaid (Capel Mair)
9.30am Parish Communion (Nave)
11.15am Choral Matins
6.00pm (4.00pm*) Choral Evensong

2nd Sunday of every month
8.00am Holy Communion (1662)
9.30am Cymun Bendigaid (Capel Mair)
9.30am Parish Communion (Nave)
11.15am Choral Eucharist
6.00pm (4.00pm*) Choral Evensong

3rd and 5th Sunday of every month8.00am Holy Communion
9.30am Bilingual Parish Communion
11.15am Choral Matins
6.00pm (4.00pm*) Choral Evensong

4th Sunday of every month8.00am Holy Communion (1662)
9.30am Cymun Bendigaid (Capel Mair)
9.30am Family Service (North Transept)
11.15am Choral Eucharist
6.00pm (4.00pm*) Choral Evensong

Daily Services (apart from Wednesday)8.00am (9.00am*) Morning Prayer & Holy Communion
6.00pm (4.00pm*) Evening Prayer or 6.00pm Choral Evensong

Wednesday8.00am (9.00am*) Morning Prayer (St Thomas' Chapel)
10.00am Holy Communion
6.00pm (4.00pm*) Evening Prayer or 6.00pm Choral Evensong

Friday12noon Prayers at St David's Shrine

St Davids Cathedral Bells
The bells are housed in a detached tower which is part of the 13th century gateway known as Porth y Twr. They were hung here in the 1930s after an anonymus donor paid for the tower to be repaired and strengthened. The original bells had been hung in the tower of the cathedral but they were removed in 1730 because of the danger of the tower collapsing. The only mediaeval bell left is in the Exhibition in the Tower Gate. Perhaps some of the metal in the present fifth bell is also from the earlier ring. There are ten bells in the ring.

For most of the year, there is a handbell practice each week on Wednesday 4pm to 5pm in Porth y Twr. For further information contact the Hand Bell Director, Melanie Northall, 01437-721890

The Tower bell practice is on Friday each week, 7:45 to 9:00pm. It is occasionally cancelled due to a concert in the cathedral. Please contact Sarah Green, 01437 720526 or 07717 522761 ls.green@tiscali.co.uk or Peter Hayward, 07986 539903.

Visitors are welcome at all practices.

Sunday Service ringing time is from 10:45am until 11:10am.

Requests to ring peals should be sent in writing to Sarah Green ls.green@tiscali.co.uk or to the Tower Captain Peter Hayward peterjaneh@hotmail.co.uk 07986 539903 giving as much notice as possible. The cathedral is a very busy place and we may have to revise arrangements to fit in with services set up at short notice. Fees for peal attempts are currently set at £60. Other bands who wish to do mixed ringing may also apply but charges will depend on length and type of ringing. Requests for peals or any other information about the bells may also be addressed to ls.green@tiscali.co.uk or peterjaneh@hotmail.co.uk

The two new bells, donated by the American Friends of St. Davids Cathedral, which arrived in St. Davids in February 2001, were dedicated by the Bishop of St. Davids the Right Reverend Huw Jones at 1200 on St. Davids Day (March 1st.) Click here to see them

Name		Weight
		Kgs	lbs
Dewi Sant (Saint David)	Tenor	122C	2700
Sant Mihangel (Saint Michael)	9th	870	1900
Sant Iago (Saint James)	8th	560	1232
Deon (Dean)	7th	510	1120
Esgob (Bishop)	6th	407	896
Sant Andreas (Saint Andrew)	5th	356	784
Sant Stinan (Saint Justinian)	4th	270	594
Mair Fendigaid (Blessed Mary)	3rd	265	582
Sant Caradog (Saint Caradog)	2nd	278	611
Santes Non (Saint Non)	Treble	269	591

The beautiful sounds that are heard when church bells are calling the faithful to their prayers are only achieved with long practice and experience.

First it is necessary to learn bell control, that is to make sure that you are ringing the bell and not vice versa. Then comes rounds which means that the bells are ringing in order. In St. Davids we have ten bells so rounds go 12345678901234567890 etc. Next comes call changes in which pairs of adjacent bells are called to change their order. For example four to two would produce 12435678901243567890 etc. Plain hunting is the next stage and here at one command all the bells start moving in relation to one another as follows 1234567890 2143658709 2416385079 4261830597 4628103957 etc. I hope you can follow that.

Finally comes method ringing which in the years since its invention has lead to many books of compositions which are meant to tax the ringer and give the listener a pleasurable experience. Using one or more of these methods experienced ringers will attempt quarter or whole peals to celebrate particular events such as Royal Weddings or the Enthronement of a Bishop or even for fun. At about two and a half seconds per round a peal can take up to three and three quarters of an hour, for about 5040 changes, which is a lot of energy to expend and requires a great deal of concentration.