St David's Church is situated within a curvilinear enclosure on a hillslope some 100m spouth-west of Llanddewi Gaer (NPRN 304248) and 300m south-east of Caerau Gaer (NPRN 304246). There is a spring within the churchyard. The church was described as `portionary? in 1600, which indicates that it originated as an early medieval `clas? site, divided between the church and powerful laymen (`portionaries?). The cropmark of a large, rectilinear enclosure has been identified in the two fields to the immediate south-west of the churchyard (measuring c.80m north-south and c.120m east-west), and the churchyard appears to have been established within it. The church appears to be nuclear to a former strip field system. There is at least one former chaperly to the parish, at Henllan. The church was a parish church during the post-Conquest period, belonging to the Deanery of Carmarthen. It was in the patronage of the Lord of the Manor of Velfrey. In 1833 the living comprised both a rectory and vicarage. The sinecure rectory was in the patronage of the Principal and Tutors of St Davids College, Lampeter.

The church is a Grade II listed buidling, constructed of limestone rubble. It consists of 3-bayed nave, 2-bayed chancel, 3-bayed north chapel (incorporating earlier north transept), south porch, and western double bellcote in the nave west wall. The nave is thought to be 13th century. The chancel (and former north transept) date from the 14th century. The chapel arcade is also medieval and the nave has 2 blocked medieval doors. The north chapel west bay was a north transept and the transept was originally longer but was truncated when it was absorbed into the north chapel. The south porch may date from the 14th or 15th century. A north porch may have been contemporary with it. The north chapel dates to the 15th century. The church was restored in 1715?1737. It was again restored in 1756?1757, when the chancel was rebuilt. The church was again restored in the early 19th century when a west door and west porch were added. The church was restored once again in 1861, when the church was largely refaced, all windows and doors were rebuilt, the chancel was heightened and the church was reroofed, refloored and reseated. In addition, the west door was blocked and its porch removed. The final restoration was in 1893, to the designs of George Halliday. The crenellated bell turret was removed and rebuilt in its current form, as was the nave west wall. A window was inserted in the nave's north wall and some of the woodblco flooring and fittings were replaced.

Sources include:
Dyfed Archaeological Trust, 2000, Historic Churches Project, Pembrokeshire gazetteer
Dyfed Archaeological Trust, 2003, Early Medieval Ecclesiastical Sites Project, Pembrokeshire gazetteer

N Vousden, 15 December 2017