St Davids

St Davids
City
Flag
St Davids is located in Pembrokeshire
St Davids
St Davids
Location within Pembrokeshire
Area17.93 sq mi (46.4 km2) (community)
0.23 sq mi (0.60 km2)
(urban area)
Population1,841  (2011)
• Density103/sq mi (40/km2)
OS grid reference[SM755255 SM755255]
Community
  • St Davids and the Cathedral Close
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHAVERFORDWEST
Postcode districtSA62
Dialling code01437
PoliceDyfed-Powys
FireMid and West Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Pembrokeshire
51°52′55″N 5°16′08″W / 51.882°N 5.269°W / 51.882; -5.269

St Davids, or St David's, (Welsh: Tyddewi, [tɨː ˈðɛwi], lit. "David's house"), is the smallest city in the United Kingdom, with about 1,841 people living there, as of the 2011 census. It is also a community called St Davids and the Cathedral Close. It is in Pembrokeshire, Wales on the River Alun. It is where Saint David is buried, who is the patron saint of Wales. St Davids first became a city in the 12th century, but it was demoted in 1886. In the UK, the monarch gives or takes away whether a place is a city or not. In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II made St Davids a city again.

History

In the 6th century, Saint David started a monastery and church on the banks of the River Alun at a place called Glyn Rhosyn (Rose Vale). The area was first called Mynyw in Welsh. The Romans called it Meneva or Menevia. The people of the monastery grew food and did other crafts, like beekeeping. They also fed the poor.

The area that grew around the monastery became known in Welsh as Tyddewi, which means "David's house". In 519, the archbishop of Caerleon was moved to the monastery. Tyddewi was renamed "St Davids" in name of the saint who founded the place. The first cathedral that was built was attacked many times by the Vikings, and burned down in 1087. The cathedral that is there now was built by the Normans. Many pilgrims travelled to St Davids because Saint David was from there.

References

  1. ↑ Office for National Statistics Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 2011 census – St David's and the Cathedral Close C
  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 its possessive apostrophe, including by the St Davids City Council Archived 1 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "St Davids".
  5. ↑ "Office for National Statistics 2011 – census – St David's and the Cathedral Close C". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "GENUKI: St David's". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. 1 2 Anon (1837). "David's, St". The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. 7–8. London: Charles Knight and Co.: 317. Retrieved 21 June 2012.