St Davids Bishops Palace

[3] St Davids became home of the Marcher Lords, responsible for guarding the border between England and Wales, so would have been a site of great strategic importance.

It was also considered a hugely important religious site, housing relics of the St David, patron saint of Wales.

They appointed a Norman bishop and attempted to protect the site by building a motte and bailey fort and, later, a stone defensive wall.

He carried out major works in the cathedral itself, built the Great Hall with wheel window in the east gable, the distinctive arcaded parapet and the porch.

He made so much money from this that a sixteenth-century account said that more than twelve years revenue of the bishopric would have been needed to cover the cost of replacing it, and the building fell into disrepair.

[9] Bishops stayed less at St Davids and, by the middle of the 16th century, the chief episcopal residence had been relocated to Abergwili, Carmarthenshire.

Exposure to the elements was affecting key features of the highly decorated stonework, windows and sculptures, causing erosion.

The project was subsequently shortlisted for a Grand Prix Europa Nostra, an award from the Pan-European Federation of Cultural Heritage.