St Asaph (Llanelwy) lies a short distance north of Denbigh along the Vale of Clwyd, and has the distinction of being one of the smallest cities in the United Kingdom — at the 2021 census its population was just 3,485, making it the second-smallest city in the country. Its status rests on its cathedral, said to be the smallest in the UK.
The site's religious history stretches back to around AD 560, when the Scottish saint Kentigern founded a monastic community here, leaving his disciple Asaph in charge when he returned north. Asaph later succeeded him and gave his name to the cathedral, the diocese and eventually the city. The building has been rebuilt more than once: Edward I's troops burned the cathedral almost to the ground in the late 13th century, and Owain Glyndŵr's forces caused further severe damage in 1402. The cathedral seen today dates largely from the reign of Henry VII, with extensive Victorian restoration.
St Asaph's city status is a modern designation — it was formally granted on 14 March 2012, as part of the celebrations marking Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, making it one of the newest cities in the UK despite the age of the settlement itself.
Despite its small size, St Asaph holds city status by virtue of its cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of St Asaph and, at under 30 metres in length, one of the smallest ancient cathedrals in Britain. The present building dates largely from the 13th century with substantial later rebuilding, and it houses a memorial to William Morgan, the Bishop of St Asaph who completed the first full translation of the Bible into Welsh in 1588 — a work of enormous significance for the survival of the Welsh language.
St Asaph was also the boyhood home of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who spent time in the town's workhouse, and a statue of Stanley now stands in the city centre. Sitting where the River Elwy meets the Clwyd, just a few miles from Denbigh, St Asaph makes an easy and historically rich stop for visitors touring the valley.