St Dogmaels Explained

Official Name:St Dogmaels
Welsh Name:Llandudoch
Static Image Name:StDogmaelsAbbey.jpg
Static Image Caption:Part of the ruins of St Dogmaels Abbey
Coordinates:52.08°N -4.68°W
Population:1,353
Population Ref:(2011)[1]
Os Grid Reference:SN165459
Community Wales:St Dogmaels
Unitary Wales:Pembrokeshire
Lieutenancy Wales:Dyfed
Country:Wales
Post Town:CARDIGAN
Postcode Area:SA
Postcode District:SA43
Dial Code:01239
Constituency Westminster:Preseli Pembrokeshire
Constituency Welsh Assembly:Preseli Pembrokeshire

St Dogmaels (Welsh: Llandudoch) is a village, parish[2] and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the estuary of the River Teifi, a mile downstream from the town of Cardigan in neighbouring Ceredigion. A little to the north of the village, further along the estuary, lies Poppit Sands beach. The parish includes the small settlement of Cippyn, south of Cemaes Head.[3]

Name

The English and Welsh names seem to bear no similarity, but it has been suggested that possibly both names refer to the same saint or founder Dogmael (Dogfael), with ‘mael’ (prince) and ‘tud’ (land or people of) being added to Dog/doch as in Dog mael and Tud doch.[4] It is the current standard usage not to have a full-stop after the 'St' or an apostrophe in 'Dogmaels'.[5]

History

St Dogmaels Abbey is 12th-century Tironesian and was one of the richer monastic institutions in Wales. Adjacent to the abbey ruins is the parish church (Church in Wales) of St Thomas, which appears successively to have occupied at least three sites close to or within the abbey buildings. The present building is a respectable minor Victorian edifice and contains the Ogam Sagranus stone.

St Dogmaels was once a marcher borough. George Owen of Henllys, in 1603, described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve.[6] The parish appeared (as Sct. Dogmels) on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire.[7]

In the 1830s, the parish's population was 2,109,[8] and fell into four areas: Cippyn, Abbey, Pant-y-groes and Bridgend.[9] In 1832, boundary changes meant that a part of Pembrokeshire, including a part of St Dogmaels, was included in Cardiganshire. This was reversed by the Welsh Assembly in 2002.

There are more than 30 listed buildings[10] in the parish, including the parish church, the abbey and the mediaeval flour mill, Y Felin.

In 2006, the village won the Wales Calor Village of the Year competition after beating Trefriw in the final.[11]

Pembrokeshire Coast Path

The northern end of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path is often regarded as being at Poppit Sands, near St. Dogmaels, where the official plaque was originally sited[12] but the path now continues to St. Dogmaels,[13] [14] where a new marker was unveiled in July 2009.[15] Here the path links with the Ceredigion Coast Path, which continues northwards as part of the Wales Coast Path.[16]

Governance

An electoral ward of the same name exists, stretching to include the community of Nevern. The population taken at the 2011 census was 2,218.[17]

Shakespeare in St Dogmaels Abbey

A Shakespeare play is performed annually in the abbey during the summer since the first play was performed in 1987. The actors are both local and from all parts of Great Britain.[18]

Notable people

Twinning

St Dogmaels is twinned with the village of Trédarzec in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Community population 2011 . Neighbourhood Statistics . . 21 April 2015.
  2. Web site: GENUKI St Dogmaels. 29 July 2019.
  3. Web site: Dyfed Archaeology Trust: Cippyn. 16 March 2018.
  4. Web site: St Dogmaels - A sense of place. 11 March 2023.
  5. Web site: Guidance on house style and use of language mechanics. 13 November 2019. Wales.
  6. Owen, George, The Description of Penbrokshire by George Owen of Henllys Lord of Kemes, Henry Owen (Ed), London, 1892
  7. Web site: Penbrok comitat. British Library. 22 July 2024.
  8. Book: S, Lewis. A Topographical Dictionary of Wales. 1833.
  9. Web site: GENUKI Parish Maps 1-4: St Dogmaels. 29 July 2019.
  10. Web site: British Listed Buildings: St Dogmaels. 29 July 2019.
  11. http://www.villageoftheyear.org/wales/index.htm Calor Village of the Year
  12. Web site: Coast Path Marker. Pembrokeshire Coastal Photography. 29 May 2014.
  13. Book: John, Brian . Pembrokeshire Coast Path . Aurum Press . 2012 . 978-1845137823.
  14. Web site: Pembrokeshire Coast Path: Newport to St Dogmaels . visitpembrokeshire.com . 14 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130618072606/http://www.visitpembrokeshire.com/content.asp?nav=9%2C25&parent_directory_id=1 . 18 June 2013 . dead .
  15. Web site: St Dogmaels to Newport (Town) 16 miles, (25.7 Kilometres). Planning a Trip . National Trails . 14 August 2013.
  16. Web site: All-Wales coast path moves a step closer at St Dogmaels . BBC News South West Wales . 21 February 2011 . 14 August 2013.
  17. Web site: Ward population 2011. 21 April 2015.
  18. Web site: Abbey Shakespeare Players: Shakespeare in St Dogmaels Abbey. 16 March 2018.
  19. Harris, Joseph (1773-1825) . 25 . Jenkin Jones . Rees M. . 19 . 1.