WESTWARD HO! TO ST. DAVIDS. THE CITY AND ENVIRONS.
'These high wild hills and rough uneven ways, draw out our miles and
make them wearisome.' Thus, league after league, the sorry team drags
the battered old ramshackle coach up interminable ascents, or plunges in
headlong career down rough, breakneck steeps, _en route_ for that Ultima
Thule of our wanderings, the ancient city of St. Davids. Sixteen miles
and seventeen hills (so the story goes) lie between Haverfordwest and
our destination. The route bears in a north-westerly direction, through
monotonous country relieved by occasional glimpses of the strange,
rugged rocks of Trefgarn, or a peep of more distant Precelly.
[Illustration: ROCH CASTLE.]
About half-way out rises the lofty isolated tower of Roch Castle, a
border stronghold dominating the march-lands that for centuries formed
the frontier of this 'Little England beyond Wales.' Built by Adam de
Rupe in the thirteenth century, the tall, picturesque old tower forms a
conspicuous object for miles around, while at its feet a group of
whitewashed cottages cluster around the lowly parish church of St. Mary
de Rupe.
Crossing the bridge that spans the Newgale Brook, we enter the ancient
Welsh province of Dewisland. Presently our venerable quadrupeds are
crawling at a snail's pace down a slanting hillside not quite so steep
as a house-roof, with the village of Lower Solva squeezed into a crevice
beneath our very feet.
The situation of this pretty hamlet recalls the Devonshire combe that
enfolds with such inimitable grace the village of Clovelly. Groups of
bowery cottages cluster around the head of a land-locked haven, which,
small as it is, bears no inconsiderable traffic in coal, lime and
general produce from the Bristol Channel ports, for distribution
throughout the western parts of Pembrokeshire.
The rocky, weed-strewn shores shelving up to low, grassy hills
overarched by the soft blue sky; a stranded coasting vessel, with
weather-stained canvas and rust-eaten anchor, beside a handful of rough
fishermen's cottages, present all that an artist could desire to compose
a charming picture.
[Illustration: SOLVA HARBOUR. FROM AN OLD PRINT.]
From the crest of the hill near Upper Solva a wide view of the sea opens
out, with a brace of rocky islets off the coast; while far ahead the
high lands of Ramsey Isle, Carn Llidi and Pen Beri, raise their graceful
undulations above remote Octopitarum, and the wind-swept sandhills that
mark the site of legendary Menapia.
Coasting along through a rolling treeless country parallel with the
course of the Via Julia (the Roman road from Carmarthen), which
accompanies us henceforth to the end of our journey, we mount the gentle
ascent that leads to the time-honoured 'city,' of which, however,
little is seen until we are 'right there,' as our Transatlantic cousins
say.
Dismounting at the Grove Hotel, we fare forth for our first view of
time-honoured Ty Dewi, the city of St. Davids. Strolling leisurely along
the quiet grass-grown 'street' of the village-city, we pause now and
again to make way for a herd of cattle, or to watch a flock of geese,
stubbing, with sinewy necks outstretched, in a damp and weed-grown
corner. Presently the roadway widens out, and here stands an ancient
stone cross, which, rising from a flight of time-worn steps, marks the
central point of this most diminutive of cities.
Casting about for some clue to the whereabouts of St. Davids Cathedral,
we soon espy a low, dark object that proves upon closer inspection to be
the topmost story of the central tower. With this as guide, we traverse
an old paved lane ycleped the Popples, _Anglicè_ Pebbles, and passing
beneath the tower gate--sole survivor of the four gate towers of the
ancient city--enter the cathedral precincts. This point affords perhaps
the most characteristic _coup d'oeil_ of the venerable edifice, set
amidst that stern and sombre landscape with which its time-worn
architecture so completely harmonizes.
[Illustration: ST. DAVIDS CATHEDRAL.]
Viewed from our present vantage-point St. Davids Cathedral appears
ensconced within the hollow of the vale, its topmost pinnacles scarce
rising clear of the distant horizon. Grouped around the central mass of
the cathedral stand the crumbling ruins of mediæval structures of
scarcely inferior interest. Away to our left, beyond a grove of
wind-swept trees, rise the arcaded walls of Gower's incomparable palace,
while the slender tower of St. Mary's College peeps over the long
cathedral roof.
[Illustration: THE GATE TOWER. ST. DAVIDS.]
The stone wall that encompasses the cathedral close upon its eastern
side terminates in the massive octagonal tower, with Gothic doorway and
windows, seen in the adjoining sketch. This is flanked again by the old
gateway through which we have just entered.
We now descend the broad flight of steps that, from their number, have
been dubbed the 'Thirty-nine Articles.' Passing through the great south
porch our eyes are greeted by a beautiful Decorated doorway, the work of
Bishop Gower, which is adorned with exquisitely-carved figures and
foliage encrusting arch and pillar. Here enclosed amidst intersecting
branches we discern quaintly sculptured representations of the Root of
Jesse, the Crucifixion, St. David with his harp, and various other
saintly personages; yonder the artist tells the history of Adam and the
birth of Eve; while overhead presides the Holy Trinity, flanked by
angels with swinging censers--a veritable gem of mediæval sculpture.
Proceeding onward we now enter the nave, whose rich yet massive
architecture forms a unique and enduring memorial of the first Norman
bishop, Peter de Leia. The general effect is of breadth rather than
height, the solid cylindrical pillars supporting semicircular arches of
unusual width, wrought with the varied and elaborate ornamentation of
the Transitional Norman period.
Above this rises a series of lofty arches enclosing both clerestory and
triforium--a rather unusual arrangement--while a singular appearance is
produced by the upward slope of the floor, and the outward lean of walls
and nave pillars, the latter being the result of an earthquake that
occurred in the thirteenth century.
The roof which spans the broad nave is one of the most notable features
of the cathedral. It was built of gray Irish oak about the end of the
fifteenth century, and is a veritable masterpiece of construction and
design. The sculptured foliage of the capitals is worthy of close
examination, and one of the nave pillars bears a faded fresco, generally
supposed to represent King Henry IV. Beneath an adjacent arch reposes
the effigy of Bishop Morgan--a goodly figure habited in priestly robes
that are admirably rendered by the sculptor's chisel. The base of this
monument is enriched with an unusually fine Resurrection, carved in
marble.
Fronting the full width of the nave, the beautiful Decorated rood screen
of Bishop Gower now claims our attention. This exquisite structure is
perhaps unrivalled in the picturesque variety of its several parts, and
the charming effects of light and shade that enhance the mellow tones of
its ancient stonework. Panelled buttresses divide the screen into five
bays, the middle compartment forming a wide archway adorned with flowers
and vine-leaves. To the left is the older portion, subdivided by Gothic
arches borne by detached pillars, with grotesque heads and figures clad
in thirteenth-century armour. A narrow stair winds up to the ancient
rood-loft above.
Turning to the southern side of the rood-screen, we are confronted by
the rich and sumptuous fabric erected by Bishop Gower, a view of which
forms the Frontispiece of the present volume. Yonder the noble founder
sleeps his last sleep beneath a richly-groined canopy, whose traceried
arches sparkle with cusps and crockets--a dignified, reposeful figure,
worthy the Wykeham of the West, as Gower has been fitly styled. In
memory of his greatest work Gower's tomb once bore the legend, 'Henricus
Gower, Episcopalis Palatio Constructor.'
After gazing our fill upon this beautiful structure, unquestionably the
_chef d'oeuvre_ of the whole cathedral, we pass through the central
archway beneath a vaulted roof, whose stony ribs, disdaining the
customary support, spring clear of the circumjacent masonry. Here
venerable tombs cluster beneath fretted ceilings that retain much of
their ancient coloured fresco work, depicting figures, foliage, and
fantastic forms which in nowise transgress the Scriptural commandment,
for they bear little or no resemblance to any created thing.
We next enter the choir, which occupies the space beneath the central
tower. Upon either hand extends a range of canopied stalls, with seats
devoted to the use of the dean and chapter of the cathedral.
These old miserere seats were so ingeniously balanced that if an unwary
brother chanced to nod over his breviary, he was quickly brought to his
seven senses by the overturning of his treacherous perch.
[Illustration: SEAFARING PILGRIMS.]
The under-sides of these curious benches have been adorned by the
craftsmen of that bygone time with the quaint conceits of their mediæval
fancy. Here, for instance, a vigorously carved panel portrays in
unmistakeable fashion the woebegone plight of two seafaring pilgrims,
whom a pair of jolly monks are ferrying across the troubled waters of
Ramsey Sound.
[Illustration: THE BONE OF CONTENTION.]
Yonder some subtle humorist has been at work, and given us his version
of the priest under the guise of a fox administering the wafer to a
goose of a layman: and it may be noticed that (after the olden custom)
the priest reserves the wine flagon to himself. This forms the subject
of our sketch at end of Chapter VIII. Two wolfish-looking dogs snarling
over a bone may by some be thought to prove the antiquity of the
familiar couplet,
'Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief,
Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef.'
[Illustration: THE BOATBUILDERS.]
Then we have a couple of sturdy boat-builders, one of whom, having laid
aside his adze, drains the contents of a capacious cup, while a mighty
beaker stands ready to his hand.
With such-like quaint original devices have those men of old encrusted
the surface of these ancient stalls. So, having done justice to their
curious details, we pass on through a _second_ screen separating the
chancel from the presbytery, an arrangement peculiar, we believe, to St.
Davids Cathedral. This portion of the fabric was rebuilt with pointed
arches after the fall of the central tower in 1220, and contains some
extremely interesting features.
The place of honour in the centre of the presbytery is occupied by the
tomb of Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII., a massive table monument of
Purbeck marble, enriched with shields and heraldic devices, and bearing
the proud inscription: 'Under this Marble Shrine here enclos'd resteth
the Bones of that noble Lord, Edmund Earl of Richmond, Father and
Brother to Kings, the which departed out of this World in the Year of
our Lord God a thousand four hundred fifty and six, the first Day of the
Month of November, on whose Soul almighty Jesus have Mercy, Amen.'
[Illustration: SAINT DAVID'S SHRINE.]
Upon the north side of the presbytery rises the stone structure that
formed the base of St. David's Shrine. It is the work of Bishop Richard
de Carew, and dates from the latter half of the thirteenth century. The
three arches seen in our sketch were once adorned with figures
representing St. David. St. Patrick and St. Denis, while the quatrefoil
openings beneath were provided with small lockers to receive the
offerings of devotees. In the presbytery we also notice a small circular
piscina of very ancient date pierced with concentric rows of holes--a
rare and curious feature.
After examining the handsome effigy of Bishop Anselm Le Gros, nephew of
Earl William of Pembroke, with its laconic couplet--
'Petra Precor dic sic
Anselmus Episcopus jacet hic'
two fine recumbent figures of very ancient date arrest our attention,
none other than those famous South Welsh princes, the Lord Rhys ap
Gruffydd and his son, Rhys Grygg.
Higden, in his quaint 'Polychronicon,' breaks forth into unbounded
panegyrics over the great Lord Rhys: 'O blysse of battayle!' he
exclaims, 'Chylde of Chyvalry! defence of Countrie! worshyppe of Armes!
the noble dyadame of fayrnesse of Wales is now fallen, that is, Rees is
dead. The Enemy is heere, for Rees is not heere; now Wales helpeth not
itself; Rees is dead and taken away, but hys noble Name is not dead, for
it is alwayes new in the wide Worlde. His Prowesse passeth hys manners;
hys Wytte passeth hys Prowesse: hys fayre Speech passeth hys Wytte; hys
good Thews passeth hys fayre Speech!'
Not to prolong the subject _ad nauseam_, we will merely indicate as more
particularly worthy of notice the tomb of Silvester Medicus; a recumbent
effigy _reputed_ to be that of Giraldus Cambrensis, of Manorbere; the
massive shrine of St. Caradoc; and two early Celtic crosses in the south
transept, bearing the device
[Illustration]
with the legend PONTIFICIS ABRAHAM FILII.
We next glance into St. Thomas's Chapel, one of the oldest portions of
the fabric, whose massive groined roof is adorned with sculptured bosses
of unusual size. Here is a piscina enclosed within a group of pointed
arches, whose lovely Early English enrichments form one of the daintiest
features of the cathedral.
We now enter the beautiful chapel erected by Edward Vaughan, the last of
the great building prelates of St. Davids. It boasts a handsome
fan-vaulted ceiling, and a peculiar hagioscope fashioned like a cross
within a circle.
[Illustration: SYMBOL OF THE TRINITY ST. DAVID'S.]
Some curious details attract our notice as we wander amongst the
unrestored chapels. In one of these, a trio of sculptured quadrupeds
suggests the idea of the Trinity, while another contains the effigy of a
knight in chain-mail, shorn of half its length by a clumsy buttress--a
legacy from the days of churchwarden misrule.
Outside the Lady Chapel stood St. Mary's Well, which according to
tradition arose at the prayer of St. David to supply the neighbouring
monastery. Giraldus tells us that this accommodating spring would
sometimes flow with wine, at other times with milk, and that it was the
scene of many edifying miracles.
Sauntering around the mellow-tinted walls of the old cathedral, we
notice the huge flying buttresses built against its northern side to
strengthen the fabric. These rugged bastions, clothed in their luxuriant
mantle of ivy, with the crumbling arches of the ruined cloisters hard
by, group in a picturesque fashion beneath the central tower, whose
broad front, bronzed by the rays of the declining sun, forms a
rallying-point for a host of homing jackdaws.
A bowshot westward of the cathedral stand the beautiful ruins of the
Bishop's Palace, rising from amidst the rich meadows beside the Allan
River. Our route thither lies over the stony way called the Popples, the
ancient approach to St. David's Shrine, and traverses the low-arched
bridge that superseded the Llechllafar, or Speaking Stone, which in
olden times spanned the stream at this point.
Many a curious legend clung around this venerable stone, which Giraldus
tells us was even in his time worn hollow by the feet of wayfarers.
Tradition avers that Llechllafar was wont to cry out in remonstrance if
a corpse was carried across it; and Merlin is said to have foretold that
an English king, returning from the conquest of Ireland, was to meet his
death upon this spot. So when Henry II. chanced this way, a disappointed
suppliant endeavoured to foist this sinister prediction upon him; but
the King, having made a suitable oration to the stone, passed over it
unharmed to make his orisons before the Shrine of St. David.
[Illustration: BISHOP GOWER'S PALACE ST. DAVIDS.]
Turning from the scene of these miraculous events, we pass a group of
lowly cottages and enter the ruined gateway of the palace. Across a
stretch of greensward, close-cropped by flocks of sheep, rise the ruined
walls of Bishop Gower's lordly dwelling; the open-arched parapets
casting a dappled shade athwart the grass-grown courtyard.
Built in the Decorated style that prevailed throughout the fourteenth
century, this interesting structure extends around a quadrangle, of
which two sides remain in fair preservation, the others being either
much in ruins, or entirely razed to the ground. Everything here speaks
of peace and bygone hospitality. A wide ogee archway adorned with
sculptured niches gives access to the banqueting-hall, an apartment of
noble proportions adorned with an exquisite rose window still in good
preservation. Near at hand rises the chapel, with its picturesque
bell-turret and pointed windows; while over all runs a pretty open
arcade, borne upon huge corbels embellished with grotesque heads and
strange fantastic monsters. A pleasant variety has been obtained by
arranging the stonework above the arches in a kind of diaper pattern, as
may be seen in the accompanying sketch taken from the meadows, whence
the rose window forms a very charming feature. With the lapse of time
these venerable ruins have mellowed into all sorts of harmonious hues,
where golden lichens, valerian and climbing plants innumerable, have run
riot over the rough purple sandstone.
[Illustration: THE PALACE ST. DAVID'S FROM THE MEADOWS.]
From the ford across the little stream beneath the palace walls, a
charming view is obtained of the ancient bridge and its rough, ivy-clad
abutments, backed by the massive front of the cathedral and the
picturesque tower and arches of St. Mary's College.
Built by Bishop Adam Houghton towards the close of the fourteenth
century, the college chapel, with its vast Perpendicular windows, must
in former times have presented an imposing appearance. Here the founder
lay at rest under a sumptuous canopy, of which, however, not a vestige
now remains. Beneath the chapel is a low groined crypt, but the various
collegiate offices which lay to the north have long since been swept
away; while the crumbling arcades of the cloisters serve nowadays to
shelter the benches of the masons employed in repairing the cathedral.
St. Non's Chapel, the reputed birthplace of St. David, stands in an open
meadow overlooking the sea, about a mile outside the city. It is a mere
tumbled mass of rude cyclopean masonry, and has no features worthy of
note save a simple cross enclosed within a circle, engraved upon an
upright slab of stone. An ancient well dedicated to St. Non, the mother
of St. David, occupies a corner of the same field.
Some quaint traditions hang around the old chapel called Capel Stinian,
whose scanty ruins overlook Ramsey Sound. St. Justinian, the patron
saint, was treacherously slain by his own followers on Ramsey Island,
whereupon the holy man arose, walked across the straits, and was buried
where his chapel now stands. The assassins, having been smitten with
leprosy, were banished to Gwahan Garreg, the Lepers' Rock. The story
runs that the Puritans stole away the chapel bells, which were famed for
their musical sound; but a great storm arising, the vessel in which they
endeavoured to escape with their booty was overwhelmed, and the bells
cast into the sea. So on stormy nights when the deep, strong tide is
troubling the waters, the dwellers near Ramsey Sound still hear the
chimes of those long-lost bells, above all the strife of the elements.
Across the straits rises the broad bulk of Ramsey Island: smooth and
tame enough on this side, but presenting to the western ocean a grim
array of tall inaccessible cliffs and gloomy caverns, the haunt of seals
and sea-fowl innumerable. Farther out to sea lies the group of rocky
islets known as the Bishop and his Clerks, 'who,' as George Owen has it,
'are not withoute some small Quiristers who shewe not themselves but at
Spring Tydes and calme seas. The Bishop and these his Clerkes preache
deadlie doctrine to their winter audience, such poore seafaring men as
are forcyd thether by Tempest; onelie in one thinge are they to be
commended; they keep residence better than the canons of that see are
wont to doo.'
Setting our course for the sea-girt promontory of St. Davids Head, we
direct our steps towards the curious-looking hill called Carn Llidi. The
bold peak of this monticle rises straight before us as we trudge across
the sandy burrows, which, in the course of ages, have invaded the site
of Roman Menapia, the elder sister of St. Davids.
Thenceforward ensues an exhilarating stretch across the open
boulder-strewn headland. Overhead the sun shines bright and warm, light
fleecy clouds drift landward under a bracing sea-breeze, casting their
purple shadows athwart the azure plain of ocean, which breaks in white
foam upon the 'grisly, fiendy Rockys blake' that fringe the broad sweep
of Whitesand Bay.
We now push on to the outermost crags of the headland. Stretching
seawards like a long, crooked finger, this remote peninsula forms the
most westerly landfall of Pembrokeshire, and the southernmost horn of
that great Welsh gulf known as Cardigan Bay. Making our way over rough,
rocky ground, we pass a huge half-fallen cromlech; and, as the headland
narrows, a crumbling rampart flanked by a half-obliterated fosse appears
to bar all further progress. This ancient structure, called Clawdd y
Millwyr, or the Warriors' Dyke, is constructed of smallish granite
stones, compacted with soil and turf; it runs in a slightly-curved line,
which is convex upon the landward face, from sea to sea across the
narrow peninsula.
Just within the shelter of the bank, upon a stretch of comparatively
level greensward, lies one of those _cityau_, or groups of hut-circles,
occasionally to be met with throughout Wales. Six at least of these
primitive dwellings are here discernible, all within a few feet of one
another, and each of considerable size; many of the stones have sharp,
square edges, and some appear to have been rudely shaped to the
requisite curve of the circle.
Tradition itself is dumb regarding the origin of these mysterious
structures; but there can be little doubt they were erected at a very
remote period.
Once again under way, we shape our course for the rocky peak of Carn
Llidi. Although barely 600 feet in height, this isolated monticle is in
its upper parts abrupt and precipitous. At first our path leads away up
the ferny slope to a sort of saddle-backed ridge, over whose bare jagged
ledges we clamber onwards until a short, sharp pull up a kind of stony
_couloir_ lands us upon the topmost crag.
Here we seem to have mounted (like Jack on his Beanstalk) into a new and
undiscovered world, for this isolated perch affords a bird's-eye view
over land and sea that rolls away to the distant horizon. Far beyond the
broad expanse of Cardigan Bay the highlands of Snowdonia loom faint but
clear; a wrinkled, treeless country, chequered by countless fields and
dotted with white farmhouses, trends away league upon league to the
foot-hills of Precelly, and the smoke-begirt heights of Glamorgan. Roch
Castle, upon its lonely hillock, looks out across a silver stretch of
St. Bride's Bay to the islands of Ramsey and Skomer. The village-city is
hidden by an intervening rise, but its situation is marked by the
conspicuous windmill; and westwards St. Davids Head thrusts out like a
crooked finger into the open sunlit ocean.
[Illustration: OLD COTTAGE NEAR ST DAVIDS.]
Descending the hill, we work our way along winding sandy lanes, and
return to St. Davids by the coast road coming from Fishguard. At an
out-of-the-way place called Gwryd-Bach we stumble across a curious old
farmstead, and being invited to enter, we proceed to make ourselves at
home in a large low chamber, half living-room, half kitchen. At one end
of this picturesque apartment is a low-browed, vaulted recess, pierced
with a deep-set window, while upon the rough flagged floor beneath
stands a mighty oak table of extremely primitive build. The ample
dresser beside the wall displays such an array of curious old painted
plates, and mugs of antiquated pattern, as might make a connoisseur's
fingers itch. One retired corner is partitioned off as a kind of homely
parlour; on another side a rough open stairway gives access to the
garret, while old guns, lanthorns, baskets and such-like articles of a
rustic _ménage_, garnish every available corner of walls and open-rafted
ceiling.
We return to St. Davids by way of Dowrog Common, the 'Pilgrims' land' of
earlier days, with its huge upright _maenhir_, called St. David's Stone.
Before turning in for the night we overhaul Ordnance maps and
guide-book, in view of an early start upon the morrow in search of
'fresh woods and pastures new.'
[Illustration: THE PRIEST & THE LAYMAN.]