Editing St Davids (section)

===Decline===
The [[Reformation]] saw both the income and importance of St Davids begin to fade as pilgrimages fell out of favour; this was exacerbated by the appointment of a number of English Bishops who were seemingly less concerned with the welfare of the cathedral or the city. Perhaps most infamously, [[Bishop of St David's|Bishop]] [[William Barlow (bishop of Chichester)|William Barlow]] sold the lead from the roof of the Bishop's Palace in 1536, beginning a long period of neglect for St Davids.<ref>{{cite book |author=Boden, Anthony |title=Thomas Tomkins: the last Elizabethan |publisher=Ashgate Pub. Co |location=Aldershot |year=2005 |pages=18 |isbn=0-7546-5118-5}}</ref>

Barlow had the Bishop's chief residence moved to [[Abergwili]], [[Carmarthenshire]] in 1542 and St Davids continued to decline. In 1603, the antiquarian [[George Owen of Henllys|George Owen]] described the city as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a [[portreeve]].<ref>George Owen, ''The Description of Penbrokshire by George Owen of Henllys Lord of Kemes'', Henry Owen, ed., London, 1892.</ref> The seventeenth century, saw two separate bishops apply for licences to demolish some of the city's ancient buildings, and the Bishop's palace was now considered "beyond repair".<ref>{{Coflein|num=21633 |desc=St Davids Bishops Palace |date=2008-10-27 |access-date=2013-05-18}}</ref>

By the 19th century, only the Cathedral itself seemed to retain the city's former glory, as described in the ''[[Penny Cyclopaedia]]'':<ref name="cyclopaedia"/>
<blockquote>
At present its appearance is that of a poor village, the houses, excepting those of the clergy, being in a ruinous state. The locality is lonely, and the neighbouring district wild and unimproved; but it is still an interesting place as the seat of a large episcopal see, with a fine cathedral and the remains of other magnificent religious edifices.
</blockquote>