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St Govan's Chapel is a chapel located at St Govan's Head, Pembrokeshire in south west Wales.
Built into the side of a limestone cliff, the building measures with walls constructed from limestone, and consists of two chambers, one in the front and one in the back. The majority of the chapel was built in the thirteenth century, although parts of it may date back further to the sixth century when Saint Govan, a monk moved into a cave located on the site of the chapel. One legend suggests that Saint Govan is buried underneath the chapel's altar, located at the east end of the building. The entrance to the building is via. a doorway on the north side, low stone benches run along the north and south walls and an empty bell-cote is located at the west end. The slate roof is suspected to be a modern addition compared to the rest of the building.
The building is accessible from the clifftop by climbing down a set of 52 stairs, although tourist organisations propagate the legend that when counted, the number of steps differs between going down and going back up.
The building was
St Govan's Chapel is a chapel located at St Govan's Head, Pembrokeshire in south west Wales.
Built into the side of a limestone cliff, the building measures with walls constructed from limestone, and consists of two chambers, one in the front and one in the back. The majority of the chapel was built in the thirteenth century, although parts of it may date back further to the sixth century when Saint Govan, a monk moved into a cave located on the site of the chapel. One legend suggests that Saint Govan is buried underneath the chapel's altar, located at the east end of the building. The entrance to the building is via. a doorway on the north side, low stone benches run along the north and south walls and an empty bell-cote is located at the west end. The slate roof is suspected to be a modern addition compared to the rest of the building.
The building is accessible from the clifftop by climbing down a set of 52 stairs, although tourist organisations propagate the legend that when counted, the number of steps differs between going down and going back up.
The building was listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
with Grade I status on 2 August 1996. The chapel is within the Castlemartin Military Training Area and is sometimes inaccessible because of military activity.
The chapel was used as a location in episode 1 of the third series of the BBC drama His Dark Materials
''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...
.
Ogof Gofan
Under the chapel is a huge cave system, Ogof Gofan, containing a "cathedral-like structure", but accessible only by means of abseiling down the cliff face. The cave was re-discovered only in 1966, but it had been used by people for thousands of years, when the sea was miles away from the cave mouth.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Govan, Saint, Chapel Scheduled monuments in Pembrokeshire Grade I listed churches in Pembrokeshire Chapels in Pembrokeshire