St Davids and the Cathedral Close is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in western

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, Wales. It comprises the city of

St Davids St Davids or St David's (, , "David's house”) is a cathedral city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun and is part of the community of St Davids and the Cathedral Close. It is the resting place of Saint David, Wales's ...

and its surrounding rural area.Ordnance Survey It was established in 1987.

Geography

The community occupies the northwestern tip of Pembrokeshire (including the westernmost point of Wales), in the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park () is a National Parks of England and Wales, national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of the three National parks of Wales, the others ...

, and includes a number of small settlements as well as the city of St Davids. The

A487 road The A487, officially the Fishguard to Bangor Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales that follows the coast from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the south, to Bangor, Gwynedd, in the north. Route The road starts at a junction with the A40 in H ...

runs through it, as do a number of minor roads. Much of the community is elevated agricultural land and rocky coastline.

Ramsey Island Ramsey Island ( Welsh: ''Ynys Dewi'') is an island about off St David's Head in Pembrokeshire on the northern side of St Brides Bay, in southwest Wales, in the community of St Davids and the Cathedral Close. It is in area. Ramsey means (i ...

is part of the community. At the 2001 census, the population of the community was 1,797. In

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, this had risen to 1,841, and fell to 1,751 at the 2021 census. There are several isolated hamlets in the community: *Berea *Caerfarchell *Carnhedryn *Fachelich/Vachelich *Llandruidion *Rhodiad-y-brenin *Treleddyd-fawr *Trelerw *Tretio Several islands and islets lie within a few miles from the coast. These are administratively within St Davids: *

, also known as Ynys Dewi, is the largest. *Carreg Yr Esgob *Carreg Fran *

Ynys Eilun Ramsey Island ( Welsh: ''Ynys Dewi'') is an island about off St David's Head in Pembrokeshire on the northern side of St Brides Bay, in southwest Wales, in the community of St Davids and the Cathedral Close. It is in area. Ramsey means (in O ...

Ynys Bery Ynys Bery is a small island south of Ramsey Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of St David's and the Cathedral Close. Etymology The island's name in Welsh means ''falcon's Island'', according to an 1852 book, but an earlier work ...

The islands below are part of the Bishop And Clerks grouping, and were included in 1987: *Carreg Rhoson *Carreg Rhoson East Island *Carreg-trai *Cribog *Daufraich *Llechau-isaf *Llechau-uchaf *Maen Daufraich *Maen Rhoson *Moelyn *North Bishop * South Bishop also known as Em-sger, is the furthest away from Pen Dal-aderyn at .

Governance

The community was established in 1974 as the community of St Davids; under The Preseli (Communities) Order 1987 it was given its present name. St Davids City Council is the community council body, and has twelve

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s. The Council employs a

City Clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

and a Financial Officer. The council is responsible for a wide range of public services and facilities, including providing links to

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council () is the local authority for the county of Pembrokeshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. History There have been two bodies called Pembrokeshire County Council. The first existed from 1889 until 1974, and th ...

and

Authority. Following a public consultation, in March 2004 the community, in conjunction with the Pembrokeshire Local Action Network for Enterprise and Development (PLANED), published an action plan, covering: * Community and Youth * Heritage and Culture * Sport, Leisure and Recreation * Environment and Enhancement * Tourism, Economy and Employment * Housing * Transport and Highways The aim was "to encourage both local residents, potential partners and funders to realise the benefits that the proposals can bring to the community and assist in achieving them". Similar community appraisals had taken place in 1988, 1995 and 2003.

Listed buildings

There are 211

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s in the community, many of which are in the city of St Davids itself, but they also include some structures in the surrounding rural area, such as the present and past lifeboat stations and the ruined chapel at St Justinians.

Worship

Along with

St Davids Cathedral St Davids Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral situated in St Davids, Britain's smallest city, in the county of Pembrokeshire, near the most westerly point of Wales. Early history Monastery of Saint David, Wales, A monastic community was ...

, there are numerous places of worship in the community, many scattered in the rural area surrounding the city. They include

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Welsh Baptist The Baptist Union of Wales (Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru) is a Baptist denomination Wales. It is affiliated with the Free Church Council, Cytûn (Churches Together in Wales), the European Baptist Federation, and the Baptist World Alliance. The headqua ...

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

Calvinistic Methodist The Presbyterian Church of Wales (), also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales. The Calvinistic Methodist movement has its origins in the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival ...

and

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

; some are no longer active. Many of their records have been preserved by Dyfed Family History Society.

References

External links

Official websiteNon-profit-making community forum
{{authority control Communities in Pembrokeshire