Set high on a clifftop and surrounded by green fields and stone walls, this evocative monument looks out across the bright blue waters of St Non’s Bay and the broad sweep of St Bride’s Bay beyond. Once an important pilgrimage site, it is thought to be the oldest Christian building in Wales. Take a lovely walk along the coastline, throw a penny in the well for luck, or have a swim at nearby Caerfai Beach!
The Chapel and its Holy Well and spring are thought to mark the spot where St Non gave birth to St David. The waters of the spring are rumoured to have healing powers and sprung up during a thunderstorm upon the birth of St David.
The Chapel ruins are a short distance from St Davids, and sit on the pretty Pembrokeshire coast path. Nearby is an incised cross which dates to the 7th-9th centuries, and was probably an altar stone or grave slab. Several prehistoric standing stones in the vicinity suggest earlier activity.
St Non is thought to have been born in AD 475, the daughter of Lord Cynyr Ceinfarfog, and the Chapel itself is thought to be on the site of St Non’s house, where she lived after her education. The earliest documented evidence for it dates from AD 1335.
Excavations in antiquity told of stone coffins or slab-lined burials (cists), probably related to the Chapel, which eventually went out of use after the Reformation. However, the Holy Well, seen to be one of the most sacred wells in the country, continued in use and was well-known for its healing properties.
