In mediaeval times St Davids occupied a strategic position at the junction of major land and sea routes between England, Wales and Ireland and therefore the monarch took an interest in St Davids, William the Conqueror visiting in 1081. The Gatehouse contains an exhibition designed to introduce the pilgrim/visitor to the history and life of the Cathedral today including its daily worship.There is information about St David himself, about mediaeval pilgrimage to St Davids (two trips to St Davids was equal to one to Rome itself), and the importance of St Davids. Next to the gatehouse stands the 13th century Bell Tower which now has a Royal ring of ten bells. ![]() ![]() Also housed in the Tower Gate House is the lapidarium (where there is a display of religious stones) and below is the bishop’s dungeon. The Tower Gatehouse, is the only survivor and was used by the medieval town council. The 15-foot high Close Wall, built in the 14th century enclosed the original cathedral city. St David chose this wild, beautiful region as the site of his monastery in the 6th century and you will find his shrine in the purple-stoned cathedral, which nestles inconspicuously in a grassy hollow beneath the rooftops of the tiny city. ![]() Nowhere in Britain is there a more ancient cathedral settlement, for it reaches back fourteen centuries and survived the plunder of the Norsmen in the 'Dark Ages'. St Davids is one of the great historic shrines of Christendom.
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