The Village with Two Names

The village is named after two Celtic saints. The Welsh name Llandudoch is based on Saint Dethog, whose monastery was probably nearby. The Normans changed the name to St.Dogmaels, after Saint Dogfael, a 6th-century saint related to St.David.

A community was attracted to the Norman abbey founded by the Norman Lord of Cemaes, Robert fitzMartin, in 1120 and it expanded sufficiently to be served by its own market and parish church.
The abbey was dissolved in 1538 by order of Henry VIII, and was described as a ruin by 1603, but the village survived.

St.Dogmaels grew rapidly in the 19th century based on herring fishing, boatbuilding and busy trade along the River Teifi. Fine 19th century warehouses can be seen here at the Pinog (Jewson’s Yard) and up river at Bridgend (Cardigan Visitors Centre).

The tithe map of 1838 shows about 100 buildings around the Abbey. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries gaps were filled and the village expanded on common land along Cwm Degwel and to the south of the village.