Pennod 6 100 Lle

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-This week, we visit St David's,

-John Davies's favourite place.

-I'll walk around Haverfordwest

-and go back to the Iron Age...

-..at Castell Henllys.

-We'll see our most famous monument

-and enjoy photos of Foel Drygarn.

-First, John joins me

-at one of our less famous castles.

-Pembroke had the only Anglo-Norman

-castle in the south-west...

-..that was never seriously

-threatened by Welsh forces.

-That's why invaders held power

-in southern Dyfed from 1090 onwards.

-From the top of the castle keep,

-we can see the whole of Pembroke.

-This long street was once

-within the castle walls, of course.

-What was the original significance

-of Pembroke Castle?

-The story begins

-in the late 11th century.

-The Montgomery family

-swept through here from Shrewsbury.

-They came through Montgomery,

-which was named after them...

-..through Powys and Ceredigion

-to southern Dyfed.

-They built a palisade of stakes

-and turf across a promontory...

-..bounded by a tributary

-of the River Cleddau.

-The round keep

-is the most striking feature.

-It was erected

-in the late 12th century.

-It may be the first round keep

-to be built in Britain.

-It's around 75 feet high...

-..and reflects a fashionable form

-of French military architecture.

-The fact that it is round

-made it easier to defend.

-We must mention

-an important event in its history.

-The castle came into the possession

-of Jasper Tudor in 1452.

-He was the Earl of Pembroke

-and the half-brother of Henry VI.

-He came here with his sister-in-law

-and she gave birth here.

-She was only 14 years old

-when she gave birth to a baby boy.

-It was a painful birth,

-by all accounts.

-The child, of course,

-was Henry Tudor...

-..who went on

-to become King Henry VII.

-He's one of three Kings of England

-to be born in Wales.

-There are waxwork models here

-that portray the story of the birth.

-They're worth seeing and I think

-that we should do so right away.

-The people of Pembroke supported

-Parliament in the first Civil War...

-..and the Crown in the second.

-Cromwell himself led the bloody

-siege of the castle in 1648.

-This is the floor

-beneath the Great Hall.

-Yes, the Great Hall

-was on the first floor.

-It was built in around 1250...

-..and was the focal point

-of the castle.

-The old hall next door

-is a century older than this one.

-It may be

-the oldest part of the castle.

-This is the space

-in which they feasted.

-The main feature

-of this part of the building...

-..is the huge cavern

-that lies beneath our feet.

-Yes, this is Wogan Cavern.

-They keep Terry Wogan here

-when he's not on the radio!

-The history of this cave goes back

-much further than the castle itself.

-Yes, Mesolithic items

-were found here.

-That's the period

-between the Old Stone Age...

-..and the Neolithic or New Stone Age.

-Whole families must have lived here.

-What's the Wogan connection?

-The Wogan family

-has close links with this area.

-One Wogan was a Member of Parliament

-during the Civil War.

-He was executed for advocating

-the beheading of Charles I.

-A branch of the family

-went to Ireland...

-..and produced

-some broadcasting stars.

-We continue to Pembroke Dock.

-Lord Nelson called it

-one of the world's finest harbours.

-The Defensible Barracks create

-a townscape without parallel.

-Pembroke Dock

-must be Pembroke's poor relation.

-Well, Pembroke itself

-doesn't look too prosperous.

-In the mid 19th century...

-..Pembroke Dock was bigger

-and more affluent than Pembroke.

-Remarkably, this is the only

-government-designed town...

-..since Edward I built Caernarfon

-and Conwy in the 13th century.

-They built a new town here in 1810

-to build wooden sailing ships...

-..with copper bottoms,

-using sheeting from Swansea.

-Around 280 ships were built here.

-It was bombed mercilessly in 1940

-and fires burned for 18 days.

-It was the worst fire in Britain

-since the Great Fire of London.

-I'd like to add

-one more interesting fact.

-The Millennium Falcon

-from the Star Wars films...

-..was built in one of those hangars.

-What pointless trivia!

-You can sail up the Western Cleddau

-from the sea to Haverfordwest...

-..but I'll drive there

-in my red car.

-If the number of parishes within

-a town is a barometer of wealth...

-..Haverfordwest

-must have flourished at one time.

-There are three parishes

-within the town walls.

-There are only two in Cardiff!

-The Church of St Thomas a Becket,

-St Mary's Church, where I am now...

-..and over there is

-the Church of St Martin of Tours.

-He wasn't a travel agent!

-Haverfordwest is in the heart

-of Pembrokeshire...

-..and that in itself

-makes it important.

-The Western Cleddau

-is navigable up to Haverfordwest.

-The combination of a pilgrims' path

-to St David's and the river...

-..makes Haverfordwest

-geographically important.

-Tabernacle Chapel was built in 1774

-and restored in 1874.

-It has always been

-an English chapel.

-Originally

-a Calvinistic Methodist chapel...

-..it is now

-a Congregationalist chapel.

-John Gambold,

-the Welsh-speaker from Puncheston...

-..who wrote many Welsh hymns,

-worshipped here.

-His work was lambasted because North

-Walians didn't understand the words!

-It's unclear who built

-the original Haverfordwest Castle.

-Some say that it was

-the Dutch Tancred family.

-Others say that it was the Normans.

-We know that the Tancreds

-lived here by the 13th century.

-Most of the remains date back

-to the time of Eleanor of Castile...

-..the wife of Edward I.

-In 1284, she expressed a desire

-to rebuild it...

-..and make it fit for a queen.

-She borrowed 407, which was

-an enormous sum of money...

-..to rebuild this castle.

-It was known at one time

-as Queen's Castle Haverford.

-The reason

-for its state of disrepair...

-..is that the destructive lunatic

-Oliver Cromwell came upon it.

-He ordered that the castle

-be demolished.

-A hand-written letter ordering

-that action is in the record office.

-That's why the castle

-is in such a poor condition.

-The steep streets of Haverfordwest

-are full of outstanding buildings.

-Foley House,

-designed by John Nash...

-..is one of the finest examples

-of Regency architecture in Wales.

-The Augustinian priory...

-..was built by the Western Cleddau

-in the 13th century.

-It stood here for 300 years,

-until Henry VIII dissolved it.

-It then became a quarry

-for anyone building a house locally.

-It's perhaps surprising

-that so much of it remains.

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-This week, Marian Delyth's

-brilliant photographs...

-..lead us across the slopes

-of Foel Drygarn.

-These are the first photographs

-I took.

-As I climbed Foel Drygarn...

-..I thought of Preseli,

-Waldo Williams's famous poem.

-"The wall of my childhood, Foel

-Drygarn, Carn Gyfrwy, Tal Mynydd

-"At my back

-in all independence of mind."

-They're highly emotional words.

-I then tried to create images

-that suited those words.

-They weren't included in the book.

-They're more apt

-for a book of poetry.

-It wasn't my brief to depict

-Waldo's poetry in 100 Places.

-Tell me about the photographs

-that you did choose.

-I chose shots that reflect

-the Preseli's beauty.

-There's nowhere to compare

-with the area on a summer's day.

-Morning mist is always beautiful...

-..and the tranquillity

-of that early hour is special.

-I took these photographs

-before the day was fully awake.

-Later that afternoon, there

-are other shots of the same area...

-..with Foel Drygarn

-in the background.

-Those fields look really organized.

-Those fields look really organized.

-

-Yes, that's true.

-I wanted to emphasize

-that it's an agricultural area.

-It's not just uncultured land.

-A community has bloomed

-around the farming industry.

-As I was climbing Foel Drygarn...

-..I noticed someone coming

-over the top on a mountain bike.

-As well as being

-visually interesting...

-..it's amazing to think of people

-cycling over Foel Drygarn today...

-..where there are traces

-of human activity in 1500BC.

-That concept of a 21st-century

-cyclist on historical land...

-..is interesting.

-I also think that it's fitting

-to include it in a book...

-..where John has focused on places

-where human activity is evident.

-It's wonderful to see

-that tiny figure on the horizon.

-This chapter in the book

-is entitled Pentre Ifan...

-..but it also includes

-other places of interest...

-..en route to the main attraction.

-We begin here, at Castell Henllys.

-You can see how Iron Age people

-lived in several sites across Wales.

-There's an Iron Age village

-at St Fagans, for example.

-Castell Henllys stands on the site

-of an Iron Age hill fort.

-These posts have been sunk into

-holes bored over 2,000 years ago.

-We know how big these houses were...

-..because rain dripping from the

-roof created circles on the floor.

-It's incredible

-that this sort of evidence exists...

-..over 2,000 years later.

-There are several buildings here.

-Each has a different function.

-This is a communal building

-that was used as a kitchen.

-Another roundhouse was used

-as a granary.

-This is thought to have been

-the home of the tribe leader.

-It's bigger and more luxurious

-than the other roundhouses.

-There are wall paintings

-and benches.

-There's also a bed

-behind those curtains.

-You can see the sophistication

-needed to build a roundhouse...

-..and an understanding of when to

-cut trees and when to let them grow.

-There's also an educational element

-to Castell Henllys, which is great.

-This is St Brynach's Church

-in the village of Nevern.

-We're a bit stingy

-with our bishops nowadays...

-..but there were once seven

-in Dyfed alone.

-This was the seat of one of them.

-The most striking thing

-about the church and its cemetery...

-..is this Celtic cross.

-It's 13 feet high and comes in two

-sections, joined by a mortise.

-Surprisingly, despite it being

-over 1,000 years old...

-..we can still

-see the patterns clearly.

-Of the 100 plus

-burial chambers in Wales...

-..Pentre Ifan is the most famous

-because of its prime location.

-It's great to think

-that the chamber's designer...

-..placed this 16-ton stone

-delicately on the other stones.

-Was it part of the fine design?

-No, because the whole structure

-was covered in soil and grass.

-Over the 3,500 years since

-it was built, the land has eroded.

-The only things still standing

-are these magnificent stones.

-It's a work of art.

-This journey ends in St David's,

-where I'm joined again by John.

-St David's is our most magical city.

-It's close to Welsh hearts

-but far from everywhere.

-You wrote about 100 places,

-but St David's is very dear to you.

-If I had to choose just one place

-in Wales to see before you die...

-..it would be the cathedral

-and Bishop's Palace in St David's.

-The surrounding countryside

-is also rich with ancient relics.

-We're standing

-in a hallowed location...

-..in the history of Wales

-and of its people.

-It's always a privilege to be here.

-There was a wall

-around these buildings.

-It was a kind of fort.

-There was nothing here except

-the cathedral, Bishop's Palace...

-..the canons' houses

-and a wall around them.

-It has been suggested that the wall

-was there to keep canons in...

-..so that they wouldn't get out

-and do less than respectable things!

-The wall may have been to protect

-the public from the canons!

-The place was built

-as a memorial to Saint David...

-..who worked here

-in the 6th century.

-We now think of St David's

-as a remote city...

-..but back in the 6th century,

-it was like Piccadilly Circus here!

-It was on the main seafaring route

-from west to east.

-This area linked Wales with Ireland,

-Brittany, Cornwall and Scotland.

-It was at the heart

-of the Celtic world.

-The Pope apparently said

-that two pilgrimages to here...

-..was the equivalent of one to Rome.

-When the Spanish post office

-published stamps...

-..showing the pilgrims' route

-to Santiago de Compostela...

-..one of them featured St David's.

-It only cost five pesetas,

-which was insultingly cheap!

-We're at the most easterly point

-of the cathedral.

-Many of the tombs are here...

-..and this may be

-the most important of them.

-This is Edmund Tudor,

-the father of Henry VII...

-..and the grandfather of Henry VIII.

-He was buried

-at Carmarthen's Greyfriars' priory.

-His grandson dissolved the priory,

-so he was moved here.

-He lies here in a prime position,

-in front of the high altar.

-There's a far more important shrine

-over there.

-It's the shrine of St David,

-which was created in 1275...

-..when they happened to find

-the remains of Saint David.

-It's believed that they found

-some elements of his bones...

-..and those remains

-lie in a small box over there.

-It's Saint David's ashtray!

-You can see parts of the box

-behind the altar.

-Behind us here is the choir,

-the heart of the cathedral.

-The bishop's throne

-tells you that this is a cathedral.

-It's known as a cathedra

-and dates back to the 14th century.

-It's one of the oldest in the UK.

-This is a cathedral

-because of that cathedra.

-Before you leave, be sure to see

-the effigy of Lord Rhys...

-..and the statue of Gerallt Gymro.

-Bishop's Palace was built

-by Henry Gower in the 14th century.

-The arched parapets and rose window

-are truly breathtaking.

-The postmodern visitors' centre

-is a good starting point...

-..but where better to finish

-than looking out to sea?

-Our pilgrimage ends here...

-..overlooking the birthplace

-of Saint David.

-Yes, and enjoying the splendour

-of St Brides Bay...

-..and the sunset over the islands.

-St Non's Well is nearby,

-though it's a 19th century addition.

-Below it is St Non's Chapel,

-mentioned in the 14th century.

-It's older than that.

-There are dressed stones there

-from centuries before then.

-Tradition has it that Saint David was

-born there in the early 6th century.

-He was born

-on a viciously stormy night...

-..right here in St Non's Chapel.

-It's very fitting that we're here

-to pay our respects to him.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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