St Davids Cathedral

St Davids Cathedral stands in St Davids, Britain’s smallest city, on the western tip of Pembrokeshire. The present building began in 1181 after an earlier Norman cathedral of 1131. Its floor slopes nearly four metres from east to west, still shifting slightly today. The west front was first restored in 1793 by John Nash, then rebuilt by George Gilbert Scott between 1862 and 1870. The cathedral has suffered earthquakes, tower collapses and Cromwell’s troops, yet remains a living place of worship. The cathedral’s history is marked by royal visits and papal decrees. In 1171 Henry II came, swelling the pilgrim crowds. Pope Calixtus II in 1123 declared two pilgrimages to St Davids equal to one to Rome. The shrine of St David was vandalised in 1089, but Rhigyfarch’s Latin Life of David soon made him a cult figure. Later, Queen Elizabeth II distributed Royal Maundy here in 1982, the first time outside England. The 1,400th anniversary of David’s death in 1989 drew the Archbishop of Wales. Inside, the nave’s Irish oak ceiling and the Holy Trinity chapel’s fan vaulting draw the eye. The Abraham Stone, carved with Celtic symbols, is displayed in the cathedral exhibition. St Mary’s College, now a hall for art and poetry, was restored in the 1960s and dedicated by Archbishop Edwin Morris. The cloisters rebuilt in the 2000s now house the choir, education rooms and a refectory. From the cathedral’s slopes and vaults to its modern visitor centre, the building tells centuries of faith and craft.