Above is a richly carved 16th-century oak ceiling, adorned with pendants.Īt the far end of the nave is a delicately carved 14th-century Gothic pulpitum (screen), which bears a statue of St David dressed as a medieval bishop, and contains the tomb of Bishop Henry de Gower (died 1347), for whom the Bishop's Palace was built.īeyond the pulpitum is the magnificent choir. As you enter the nave, the oldest surviving part of the cathedral, the first things you'll notice are the sloping floor and the outward lean of the massive, purplish-grey pillars linked by semicircular Norman Romanesque arches, a result of subsidence. The atmosphere inside is one of great antiquity. The distinctive west front, with its four pointed towers of purple stone, dates from this period. Extensive works were carried out in the 19th century by Sir George Gilbert Scott (architect of London's Albert Memorial and St Pancras) to stabilise the building. 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.īuilt on the site of a 6th-century chapel, the building dates mainly from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The valley site was chosen in the vain hope that the church would be overlooked by Saxon raiders, but it was ransacked at least seven times. Hidden in a hollow and behind high walls, St David's Cathedral is intentionally unassuming.
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