St David's Cathedral

The Cathedral of St David's in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire is one of the oldest courses in the UK. Its origin lies in the 6th century when St. David ( Welsh: Dewi Sant, about 512-587 ) in Glyn Rhosyn ( " Valley of Roses " ) on the River Alun founded his monastery.

Architectural History

St David's is the last major church in the Norman style in the UK. On its establishment was in the 12th and 13th centuries, the main focus of the bishops. Only after the appointment of Thomas Bek in 1280 were the other buildings of the cathedral system, the current bishop's palace, the chapel, the bishop Hall, the upper chambers, and the carriage house, tackled.

The Norman arches in the nave testify how far St Davids was behind the times; they come from a period in which the Gothic in England was already in full bloom. As building material served Cambrian sandstone in shades of gray and pink; followed up with more honey-colored oolitic, which today largely determines the appearance of the church building.

The next important step was taken by Bishop Henry de Gower ( 1328-1347 ). He gotisierte the exterior of the Cathedral, built the great hall of the episcopal palace and beautified the entire building, from its great size today only ruins proclaim, with arcades of different sizes. Arcades of this type can also be seen in the Episcopal Palace of Lamphey near the town of Pembroke and Swansea Castle. Later in this phase of construction there were the Chapel of Saint Thomas and the kitchens added.

The ensemble was completely surrounded by a wall. The only surviving gate, Porth -y- Twr, opens the way from the Cathedral to the center of St Davids. Walls and gates date from the period around 1300.

Decline

After the death of Henry de Gower began hard times for Wales. The plague raged for nearly a quarter of a century and brought the pilgrims to a halt. Then the Reformation and the Tudor King Henry VIII came the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536. The English Civil War also left its mark on the building structure.

The cathedral, like many Norman buildings equipped with substandard foundations had to be secured by additional structural measures in the 16th century. The lead lining from the roof of the great hall of the episcopal palace was removed and the building thus abandoned to decay. 1633 was the last year in which the building complex could still be used. Only in the late 18th century, awoke as a new national consciousness in Wales, there was another effort to get the Cathedral investment at least in part. The bishop's palace, however, was beyond saving. For the repair of the church was commissioned only the famous architect John Nash, and then George Gilbert Scott.

Interior

Access to Cathedral located at the western end of the south side. The porch was added under Bishop Gower in the 14th century, the decorative elements are barely recognizable today from the weathering. The space above is from 1515. Entering the southern nave, the outward inclination of the colonnade stands out. Contributed over the centuries, several factors contribute in St Davids have: the load of the tower, the inadequate foundations as well as the steep and swampy ground. In addition, major damage came by an earthquake in 1248. At the rear wall of the building, the skew is also noticeable.

The three-aisled nave is unmistakably Norman despite the inserted later Gothic windows. It has six massive arches with clear semi-circular arches, decorated with fine relief. The pillars are, however, rather plain, with narrow notched capitals. The showpiece of the nave is the finely carved wooden ceiling from the 16th century. The end of the nave is the brick, richly decorated with sculptures choir screen from the 14th century.

To the choir screen around is located in the south aisle, the destroyed tomb of Bishop Edmund Gower, the great merit earned by the cathedral and the surrounding area. In addition to the burial site, it goes into the beautiful, lying within the choir transept from the 15th and 16th centuries. The choir stalls, including the bishop 's throne under a high canopy is intricately carved from wood. The Misericordien of the pews show little scenes from the daily life of the rural population: dancing peasants, a ship of fools, market activity. The ceiling of the square Vierungsturmes mimics a stone fan vaulting, with the arms of the bishops of St Davids in the subjects columns.

At the chorus of crossing the three ships of under Bishop Vaughn (1509-1522) close to built presbytery. Even the ceiling is carved and beautifully painted. The golden mosaics behind the high altar of the presbytery were added in the late 19th century; they come from the Venetian, specializing in glass and mosaics company Salviati. Under the arcades which separate the choir and presbytery, is the shrine of St. David, him against the stone sarcophagus Edmund Tudor. The shrine is indeed in its original place, the bones of the saint, however, were placed in the time of the Reformation in safety. It is believed that they are in the reliquary in the neighboring Holy Trinity Chapel. The free-standing tomb of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and father of Henry VII, was to the 16th century in Carmarthen.

Near the north transept is the chapel of Thomas Becket, it shows a stained glass image depicting St. David. At the southeast end of the marble Cathedral Chapel of Edward the Confessor is housed. The tomb therein is that of the Countess of Maidstone, granddaughter of Bishop Jenkinson ( 1825-1840 ). From here, a walkway to the Lady Chapel, which was restored in 1901. On the wall of the south transept in the south transept there is, interestingly, a Cretan icon of the image fed by ravens Elijah from the 17th century. There are also in the aisles of the cathedral several tombs and effigies of medieval knights and priests.

Organ

The organ was rebuilt in 2000 by the organ builder Harrison and Harrison (Durham ), the material of the pipes predecessor instrument by Peter Willis was reused. The instrument has 53 stops on four manuals and pedal. The play and Registertrakturen are mechanical.