Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sleeping
8
Alandale
B1
C2
10
Coach House
C2
11
Grove
D2
Eating
12
Cwtch
C2
A1
14
Sampler
B1
15
Sound Cafe
C2
C2
17
The Bishops
B2
Drinking & Nightlife
B2
Sights
St Davids Cathedral
(
www.stdavidscathedral.org.uk
;
suggested donation £4; 8.30am-5.30pm Mon-Sat, 12.45-5.30pm Sun)
Hidden in
a hollow and behind high walls, St Davids Cathedral is intentionally unassuming. The val-
ley site was chosen in the vain hope that the church would be overlooked by Viking raid-
ers, but it was ransacked at least seven times. Yet once you pass through the gatehouse
separating it from the town and its stone walls come into view, it's as imposing as any of
its contemporaries.
Built on the site of a 6th-century chapel, the building dates mainly from the 12th to the
14th centuries. Extensive works were carried out in the 19th century by Sir George Gilbert
Scott (architect of the Albert Memorial and St Pancras in London) to stabilise the building
and repair damage caused by an earthquake in 1248 and the sloping, boggy ground on
which it sits. The distinctive
west front
, with its four pointed towers of purple stone, dates
from this period.
CHURCH
