Start-end point of the Wales Coast Path at St Dogmaels

Aber Teifi, gyda Gwbert yn y cefndir - Teifi estuary with Gwbert in the background - geograph

St Dogmaels ( cy, Llandudoch) is a village,

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, Wales, on the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the

River Teifi , name_etymology = , image = File:Llyn Teifi - geograph.org.uk - 41773.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Llyn Teifi, the source of the Teifi , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

, a mile downstream from the town of Cardigan in neighbouring

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

. A little to the north of the village, further along the estuary, lies

Poppit Sands Poppit (), is a small, dispersed settlement which lies on the southern side of the estuary of the River Teifi, near Cardigan, in northern Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is primarily known for its popular sandy beach, called Poppit Sands () whic ...

beach. The parish includes the small settlement of Cippyn, south of

Cemaes Head Cemaes Head (formerly Cemais, and historically anglicised as Cemmaes, Kemmaes or Kemmes) (Welsh: ''Pen Cemaes'' or ''Trwyn Cemaes'') is a headland and nature reserve in north Pembrokeshire. It lies in the community of St Dogmaels, within the ...

Name

The English and Welsh names seem to bear no similarity, but it has been suggested that possibly both names refer to the same saint or founder

Dogmael Saint Dogmael (or Docmael, Dogfael, Dogmeel, Dogwel, Toel) was a 6th-century Welsh monk and preacher who is considered a saint. His feast day is 14 June. Life Dogmael (or Dogfael, Dogwel) was of the house of Cunedda, descended from the kings of W ...

(Dogfael), with ‘mael’ (prince) and ‘tud’ (land or people of) being added to Dog/doch as in ''Dog mael'' and ''Tud doch''. It is the current standard usage not to have a full-stop after the 'St' or an apostrophe in 'Dogmaels'.

History

St Dogmaels Abbey is 12th-century Tironesian and was one of the richer monastic institutions in Wales. Adjacent to the abbey

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

is the parish church (

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

) of St Thomas, which appears successively to have occupied at least three sites close to or within the abbey buildings. The present building is a respectable minor Victorian edifice and contains the Ogam Sagranus stone. St Dogmaels was once a marcher

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

George Owen of Henllys George Owen of Henllys (1552 – 26 August 1613) was a Welsh antiquarian, author, and naturalist. Early life George Owen was the eldest son born to Elizabeth Herbert and William Owen in Henllys of the parish of Nevern, near Newport, Pembroke ...

, in 1603, described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve. The parish appeared (as ''Sct. Dogmels'') on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire. In the 1830s, the parish's population was 2,109, and fell into four areas: Cippyn, Abbey, Pant-y-groes and Bridgend. In 1832, boundary changes meant that a part of Pembrokeshire, including a part of St Dogmaels, was included in Cardiganshire. This was reversed by the Welsh Assembly in 2002. There are more than 30

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s in the parish, including the parish church, the abbey and the mediaeval flour mill, ''Y Felin''. In 2006, the village won the Wales

Calor Village of the Year The Calor Village of the Year comprised 4 annual competitions organised by gas provider Calor to identify the villages that best met the following criteria: "a well-balanced, pro-active, caring community which has made the best of local opportun ...

competition after beating

Trefriw Trefriw () is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies on the river Crafnant in North Wales, a few miles south of the site of the Roman fort of Canovium, sited at Caerhun. At the last three censuses the population of the ...

in the final.

Pembrokeshire Coast Path

The northern end of the

Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Sir Benfro), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly at ...

is often regarded as being at

, near St. Dogmaels, where the official plaque was originally sited but the path now continues to St. Dogmaels, where a new marker was unveiled in July 2009. Here the path links with the

Ceredigion Coast Path The Ceredigion Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Ceredigion) is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales. It is in length, running along the coast of Cardigan Bay from Cardigan to ...

, which continues northwards as part of the

Wales Coast Path The Wales Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Cymru) is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales. Launched in 2012, the footpath is long and was heralded as the first dedicated coast path in the wor ...

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

of the same name exists, stretching to include the community of

Nevern Nevern ( cy, Nanhyfer) is both a parish and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The community includes the settlements of Felindre Farchog, Monington, Moylgrove and Bayvil. The small village lies in the Nevern valley near the Preseli Hills of ...

. The population taken at the 2011 census was 2,218.

Shakespeare in St Dogmaels Abbey

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play is performed annually in the abbey during the summer since the first play was performed in 1987. The actors are both local and from all parts of Great Britain.

Twinning

St Dogmaels is twinned with the village of Trédarzec in

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord ( br, Aodoù-an-Hanternoz, link=no, ), are a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

References

External links

Further historical information and sources on GENUKIVillage websiteAbbey Shakespeare PlayersPhotographs of St Dogmaels and surrounding area on Geograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Dogmaels Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire