St. David’s Bishop’s Palace, South Wales

In 1115, Bernard, who was chaplain to Henry I’s Queen, Matilda, was appointed by King Henry to become Bishop of St. David’s Cathedral. He was the first Norman to hold the title. Bishop Bernard built an earlier Cathedral here but he is also responsible for the layout of the Cathedral Close.  Henry II visited St. David’s twice, firstly in 1171 and then again on his return from Ireland in 1172. However the Bishop’s Palace that we see today, dates from the end of the 12th or beginning to the 13th Century. 

In the 13th and 14th Centuries, the Bishops of St. David’s came from Oxford.  They would not have been Welsh but would have been appointed because of their loyalty to the King, just as Bernard had been in the 12th Century. St. David’s was in an isolated and remote location close to Ireland and having a loyal man in charge there was a political move. 

The first of the Oxford Bishops was Thomas Bek, whose family had served the English Kings and had risen to the rank of minor nobility through this service.  His younger brother Anthony became one of the councillors of King Edward I and was later appointed as Bishop of Durham. Thomas was Master of Arts at Oxford University and became the University Chancellor in 1269. Thomas held the title of Office of the Keeper of the Wardrobe in 1274. Edward I appointed Thomas Bek as Bishop of St. David’s in 1280.

Edward I and Queen Eleanor visited St. David’s in 1284. The King gave a gift towards the construction work that was being undertaken at the Cathedral.  In 1287, Bek ordered the canons to enclose their houses. It is not certain if this refers to the construction of the wall encircling the close, or the enclosure of each individual property by boundary wall. 

The Bishop of St David’s held his seat directly from the Crown, with Royal Jurisdiction.  These regalia rights, safeguarded and confirmed by successive Royal Charters, included a prison, gallows and the right to hold courts.  The Bishop would receive income through his tenants of the estate, in what is now Pembrokeshire.  He also received the income from the tolls at the fairs and markets, which King Edward I granted in 1281. 

During the Middle Ages the Bishops of St David’s wielded great temporal and spiritual power.  In a time of war, the tenants of the estate had to follow the Bishop with the shrine and relics of St David. 

Bishop Henry de Gower became Bishop of St. David’s in 1327.  He was a graduate of Merton College in Oxford and in 1322, had taken the degree of Doctor of Civil Law and Canon Law. He was Chancellor of the University, he became the Archdeacon of St. David’s in 1326 and was Bishop in 1328. He had also served Edward III and received honours and privileges from the King. 

When Gower was elected Bishop of St. David’s, he embarked on building the Bishop’s Palace we see today.  He built the palace as two sets of ranges on either side of the courtyard.  One was for his own private use and the second was used for ceremonial occasions, where he would entertain important guests and distinguished pilgrims. Both sets of chambers were built at the first floor level, above vaulted undercrofts and entered by elaborate porches. 

The distinctive chequered arcade parapet unified the group of buildings.  Although faded now, there are areas that have been restored.  At its time, it would have been an incredible building, with nothing else like it in the whole of Wales.

Besides entertainment, the great hall may also have been used as an audience chamber and for the administration of justice.  The Bishops of St David’s were also Marcher Lords, whose tenants had to appear in the Episcopal courts.  

At the time de Gower was building the palace and altering the Cathedral, the style of gothic architecture known as Decorated, was the height of fashion. A style, which can only be found in England and Wales, it was popular from the mid-13th to mid-14th Centuries. It was achieved by lavish ornament, which included fine carvings and flowing tracery. All created at a time when there was no profession known as architect. The design of these buildings was the result of educated patrons and master craftsmen.

By the later middle ages, the Bishops of St. David’s were not often actually to be found in St. David’s.  They seem to have spent most of their time elsewhere, whether that was in the country seat at Lamphey, or their castle at Llawhaden, where most of the administration of the Diocese seems to have been carried out. Outside of the Diocese, they spent time at St. Bride’s Church in London, or at manor houses owned by them personally. The Bishops came to St. David's for the great feasts of the church, such as Easter but their visits otherwise became infrequent.