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Bangor Cathedral
Occupying the site of one of the earliest monastic settlements in all of
Britain, the present unpretentious building, or what is left of it after
centuries of neglect and numerous fires, was erected by Bishop David between
1120 and 1139.
In the 19th century, the ubiquitous
Sir Gilbert Scott was called upon to supervise a drastic restoration, which
resulted in the building we see today. Yet some
items of interest remain. The cathedral's greatest treasure is the late 13th
century "Anian Pontifical", a service book for Bishops, set to music. Inside
the church you will find a set of dog tongues (a set is also found at Clynnog
Church) used to remove noisy or unruly dogs from church services.
A very pleasant, and most unusual feature of the exterior of the
cathedral is the Bishop's Garden, containing the Biblical garden which is
planted on one side with flowers and shrubs traditionally associated with the
medieval church. On the other side, planted chronologically according to the
order in which they are mentioned, are found examples of all trees, shrubs
and plants in the Bible and able to survive the climate of this northern part
of Britain.
Brecon Cathedral
As Welsh cathedrals go, the
one at Brecon is not ancient, dating back only to its founding as the
Benedictine Priory of St. John the Evangelist at the close of the 11th
century. Giraldus Cambrensis was Archdeacon here in 1172, though not much
remains of the church in which he officiated. Much of the present building
dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, with Sir Gilbert Scott responsible
for the extensive 19th century restoration.
Inside the cathedral, small by English and European standards but interesting
nevertheless, are found various items deserving of notice.
The cathedral also contains a rare Breeches Bible.
After being silent for over
200 years, the 18th century ring of six bells was replaced in 1995. The 16th
century tithe barn is now used as a Heritage Centre and craft shop. A
restaurant is also available on the cathedral grounds.
Find out more>>
Caldey Island
Pembrokeshire
From the
picturesque resort town of Tenby, in southern Pembrokeshire, with its
medieval and Tudor buildings and town walls, boats will take you to Caldey
Island. Here monks at the modern Cistercian Monastery, built alongside the
12th century priory, create homemade perfumes and chocolate and provide a
hearty welcome for visitors.
Llandaff
Cathedral
Unlike most Welsh
churches, Llandaff is not named after a saint, but rather the area in which
it is located. The name translates as "Church on the River Taff." Situated on
one of the oldest Christian sites in the British Isles, the cathedral was
begun in the 12th century but rebuilt and modified over and over again
throughout its history. During a bleak, terrible night in January, 1941, a
huge German mine exploded, destroying much of the cathedral and it was not
until the 1960's that restoration was completed.
Llandaff Cathedral's whole history is one of destruction and
reconstruction.
The cathedral is built in a hollow on a site that was probably the scene of
ancient Celtic worship, for Romano-British burials have been found here.
The greater part
of the present cathedral, including the nave and chancel arcades, the West
front and the chapter house were completed in 1250.
They were quickly
followed by the Lady Chapel, which was erected during the bishopric of
William de Braose.
Llandaff
is unique among the cathedrals of Britain as having no transepts
or triforium. A great deal of strengthening and rebuilding took
place during the 14th century which lasted over 300 years,
after which neglect
and decay saw the cathedral's almost total destruction.
In the early part of the 18th century, unusually fierce storms wrecked havoc
on the already crumbling building, causing the roof of the nave to fall in
and the southwest tower to collapse. Restoration began
again under John Wood of
Bath in the latter part of the century and again in 1835 under John Prichard
when a curious Italian temple built by Wood inside the walls was removed and
much decorative work added.
Visitors of today
can only marvel at what has remained and been restored.
St. Asaph's Cathedral
St. Asaph may have
been founded as Llanelwy in the sixth century as a monastic settlement by St.
Kentigern. The cathedral was rebuilt on its
original site as it was completely destroyed by the
army of Edward I on his conquest of North Wales.
Inside the Cathedral there is much of interest. The refurbished roof painting
celebrates the investiture of Charles in 1969. The 13th century nave of Anian II has 14th century arcades; the saint
is remembered by an effigy in the South Aisle which also contains the curious
Greyhound Stone with its unexplained heraldic decorations.
Here in the South Aisle you'll also find a tablet to the memory of explorer H.M. Stanley (of Dr. Livingstone fame) whose youth as an orphan was spent at
the St. Asaph workhouse nearby, now part of the Glan Glwyd Hospital. An exquisitely carved ivory Madonna may
have come from a galleon of the ill-fated Spanish Armada.
In the Chapter Treasury is a fine collection of early bibles and prayer books
including the first Welsh New Testament (1587), Bishop Morgan's magnificent
Welsh Bible of 1558 and many other Welsh religious books. Another item of
interest is the Triglot Dictionary of the eccentric Richard Robert Jones (Dic
Aberdaron), who traveled about Wales in the early 19th century
who, though unschooled, is reputed to have mastered dozens
of foreign languages, ancient and modern.
St. Brynach's
Church, Nevern
The church was erected
on one of the earliest Christian places of worship in the country.
Founded in the fifth century by St. Brynach after he is said to have spoken
with angels on the summit of nearby Mynydd Carningli (Muneethe Carn
Inglee),"The Mount of Angels." It became an important stopping place for
pilgrims on the way from Holywell in the northeast, to St. David's in the
southwest.
The churchyard contains a magnificent line of ancient "bleeding yews" and
cypress trees. The church
has a famous collection of Celtic memorial stones.
Near the church, in a
little leafy, narrow lane, cut into a rock, is a wayside pilgrim's cross
where travelers stopped to pray for a safe journey.
St. David's Cathedral
Pembrokeshire
In the medieval
kingdom of Dyfed, you will find the largest church in Wales and the shrine of St.
David situated in the smallest city in the British Isles.
The cathedral building itself, the largest and most
impressive among its Welsh counterparts, sits in a hollow, Glyn Rhosyn (Glinn
Hrossin) through which runs the river Alun (Alin). It is believed by many
that the cathedral was placed here to hide it from Viking raids because it
cannot be seen from the sea. Entrance
to the cathedral is through an impressive,
ruined gateway and down a steep flight of stone steps known locally as
the 39 Articles.
There is much to see therefore a guidebook is
essential. The cathedral contains the shrines of St. Caradog and St.
Justinian as well as St. David (though the latter may not actually be buried
there according to recent scientific tests of the bones). It also houses one
of the only surviving medieval Bishop's thrones in Britain. Edmund Tudor,
father of Henry VII is also commemorated here by an impressive altar tomb.
In addition to the remains of Bishop Gower's opulent residence, the cathedral
grounds also contain the ruins of St. Mary's College, for secular priests,
which John of Gaunt helped found in 1377.
St. Govan's
Chapel
Pembrokeshire
Not too far from Tenby,
out on the spectacular southwest coast of Wales, wedged into a tiny crevice
in a steep cliff is another sacred spot. This is the tiny chapel of St. Govan,
built in the 13th century on the site of the cell of a sixth century Celtic
monk.
Here, the hermit St. Govan, from Wexford in Ireland,
was
reported to have hid from his pagan persecutors in a niche in the rock, which
miraculously opened and closed behind him. A modern visitor slim enough to
turn around in the niche is assured of good luck and the fulfillment of his
wishes. A former well on the chapel floor was supposed to cure many diseases.
A huge boulder outside the chapel is also said to hide a silver bell, stolen
by pirates (or Vikings) from the chapel tower, but recovered by angels and
now kept safe in the rock.
A steep flight of stone steps cut into the
cliff leads down to the tiny chapel. Legend has it that the number counted
going down never matches the number reached on the way up.
St. Woolos.
Situated on Stow
Hill, overlooking the town center is the Welsh cathedral of St. Woolos. This
is the most modern of the six cathedrals of Wales, having been a Parish
church until 1921. It received the status of a full cathedral
in
1949, following the formation of the Diocese of Monmouth.
The church is named
after a fifth century Welsh nobleman, Gwynllyw (Gwin Thlee-oo), Lord of
Gwynllwg (Gwinn Thloog) who converted to Christianity after the fulfillment
of his dream that he would find a white ox with a black spot on a nearby
hill.
In the latter part of the 12th century another church was erected on Stow
Hill by Norman Lord Robert Fitzhamon. This lasted until the mid-15th century,
when fighting involving Welsh patriot Owain Glyndwr and the Norman rulers of
Wales led to its almost total destruction. The north and south aisles were
then rebuilt and the tall tower added. The columns of the fine Norman arch
that remain are believed to have come from the Roman fortress at nearby
Caerleon.
The nave retains many of its original Norman features, while the Lady Chapel
shows evidence of being built on the site of the first church; its walls show
pre-Norman influences. On the west exterior of the cathedral, you should look
for a headless statue that may represent Jasper Tudor, said to have built
part of the tower but more famous for being the uncle and guardian of the
future king, Henry VII.
Strata Florida
Abbey
Pontrhydfendigaid, Cardiganshire
The Abbey was founded by the Cistercian
Order in 1164 though there is evidence of an earlier Cluniac settlement
nearby.
Local Welsh
prince Rhys ap Gruffydd is responsible for the
existing church, which was moved from it's original site
by the banks of the Afon Fflur from
which Strata Florida,
a Latin form of the Welsh "Ystrad Fflur"
(Vale of Fflur, or 'flowers') derives its name. though parts of the present day ruins date from later
centuries.
In addition to its prestige as the religious and educational
centre of all Wales in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Abbey, considered
wholly Welsh in character, was also the country's political center for a
short time.
Among the clutter of 18th century farm buildings that now cover most of the
Abbey's original site stands a fine Celtic-Romanesque west door that has a
series of remarkable embellishments including triskel motifs.
This justly celebrated doorway was originally
flanked by a pair of lancet windows, but only one now survives.
Of equal importance is the Abbey's grounds,
which contains the
graves of the Welsh princes to the east of the
south transept. Their decorated headstones and grave slabs mark the graves of
two of the Lord Rhys's sons.
This is also the reputed burial site of the greatest of all Welsh love
poets, Dafydd ap Gwilym and a memorial
slab commemorating him stands in the north transept.
In the old school building at the
entrance to the site is a small exhibition with some of the artifacts found
during excavations of the abbey.
Tintern Abbey
The abbey is nestled snugly on
the banks of the Wye, below the wooded hills made famous by poet William
Wordsworth. Originally built by the Cistercians in 1131, Tintern is the most
complete of the ruined abbeys of Wales. Much of it was rebuilt between the
13th and 15th centuries at which time it was the largest and wealthiest
monastic foundation in the principality.
After 400 prosperous years at Tintern, the Cistercians left the Abbey at its
Dissolution in 1536, at which time all valuable articles were catalogued,
weighed and sent to King Henry VIII's treasury. The ruins then decayed in
magnificent obscurity until 1782, when Reverend William Gilpin's publication
"Observations on the River Wye" began the trickle of visitors to Tintern that
became a flood after the paintings of William Turner and the writings of
William Wordsworth made the ruined Abbey known throughout Britain.
Today visitors come to admire the greatly decorated church and the exquisite
tracery of its windows.
Valle Crucis Abbey
Llangollen, Denbighshire
The
abbey was established in 1201 and suffered a
serious fire soon after its founder's death in 1236.
Traces of burning are
still visible on the lower stonework of the church and the south range.
Repairs to the church, notably the reconstruction of the magnificent
western gable end and commemorated by the inscription above the rose window,
were carried out under Abbot Adam in the early 14th century.
The superb vaulted chapter house is an especially well preserved feature and
dates from this time.
In the late 16th century,
the eastern range was converted into a house with a new roof-line, although
this roof had gone by the early 18th century. Many of the ruins were roofed
again later in the century and used as a farm.
A very fine collection of medieval memorial
sculpture is preserved in the dormitory, and there is a small exhibition
revealing more of Valle Crucis and the Cistercian monastic life.
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