Newport Cathedral

St Gwynllyw with St Gwladys and St Cattwg fancifully depicted in a 19th-century window in the south aisle

The church was founded by St Gwynllyw, who lived in the later fifth century, after the Roman occupation, at a time when Wales was beginning to develop a national identity. Gwynllyw was the king of Gwynllwg, an area which lay between later Glamorgan and Gwent. He was undoubtedly a real person, although miraculous events have been associated with his life and his burial place. He was alleged to have been originally a merciless warrior against adjoining kingdoms, a robber and a pirate. Later in life, he converted to Christianity, having been told in a dream to follow a white ox to the prominent hill, where he built a church, probably of wood. The shape and footprint of this original church is reflected over 1500 years later in St Mary's chapel at the west end of the cathedral. The church became his burial place (Welsh: eglwys y bedd) and in succeeding centuries was a significant place of pilgrimage. It was subject to plundering and attack including, it is said, by Irish pirates and Danes, and in 1060 by followers of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king.[4]^: 172–93

Gwynllyw is venerated in Wales and in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. He was the husband of St Gwladys and their son was one of the greatest of all Welsh saints and scholars, Cadoc (Cattwg in Welsh).[4]^: 90–1

After their conquest of South Wales, the Anglo-Normans built the first castle in Newport in the late eleventh century or early twelfth century, close to Gwynllyw's church, which would itself have been rebuilt by then, probably in stone.[5]^: 17–42

A much greater transformation took place at the site in the later twelfth century when a large new church was built in the Romanesque style with round-headed arches, favoured by the Normans.[6] Instead of building this new church directly on the original site of Gwynllyw's church, it was built to the east, but attached to it, respecting the sanctity of the original site and indicating of the strength of the cult of Gwynllyw.

In the 14th century, the castle was replaced by a new castle on the bank of the River Usk. The town of Newport (Casnewydd in Welsh, meaning 'new castle') grew near the castle and river.[5] St Gwynllyw's church remained prominent on its hill-top in a rural location, well outside the town boundaries and its defensive gates. It retained its status as the parish church of Newport due to its prestige. In the late nineteenth century the church become surrounded by the western suburbs of Newport.

A schematic plan of the cathedral

The cathedral is usually approached from the west door, so the visitor moves from the west towards the east end, passing through the tower, then St Mary's chapel and through the Romanesque portal to the larger church beyond and finally to the twentieth-century eastern extensions.

Newport Cathedral from the west

The tower dates from the fifteenth century and is built in the later medieval Perpendicular style with wider and flatter arches than earlier Gothic styles. The headless statue on the outside of the third story of the tower is traditionally associated with Jasper Tudor who may have funded its construction. He had strong Welsh connections and was the uncle of Henry VII, the first king of the Tudor dynasty. Tradition also asserts that his head on the statue was shot down during the English Civil War by Cromwell’s supporters.[7]

The tower contains a ring of 13 bells, the largest ring of bells in Wales. Although a fine tower, it is separated from the main body of the church by St Mary's chapel. It is not certain whether there was an earlier tower on the site.[8]^: 51

St Mary's Chapel looking towards the east with the font in the foreground

To enter St Mary's chapel, which now links the tower with the main body of the cathedral, we pass through a modern glass screen engraved with representations of St Gwynllyw holding his church and of St David (Welsh: Dewi Sant), the patron saint of Wales, with a dove on his shoulder.

St Mary's was the original site of Gwynllyw’s church, (though much restored and rebuilt in the 11th, 13th and 19th centuries) and the site of his tomb, (Welsh: bedd y sant), which is believed to have been on the south side of the building.[9] This chapel is a place to savour the established tradition of Celtic Christianity in Wales, which long predates the arrival of St Augustine to convert England.

Towards the west end of the chapel is a splendid Victorian reconstruction of a Romanesque font based on a surviving fragment of the original which has been incorporated in the later work. The shaft and base of the font look medieval.[10][3]^: 163–4

Low down on the south side of the chapel, a curious medieval octagonal window has been cut into the fabric which is believed to have been relocated here in 1913 when the south porch (now the cathedral shop) of the main building was remodelled.[11]

The great Romanesque portal leading from St Mary's Chapel to the main body of the cathedral to the east

It is from St Mary's chapel that we first view the chief glory of the cathedral – the wonderful twelfth-century Romanesque portal with its characteristic zig-zag chevron motifs framing the iconic view of the main body of the cathedral. The outer order of decoration is derived from Gloucester Cathedral, while the inner order has parallels in the Herefordshire School of Romanesque Sculpture.[12] There are some remains of paint on parts of the portal, and it was almost certainly fully painted originally. The site of the archway may well mark the site of an opening to an earlier, smaller chancel, perhaps ending in an apse, before the major extension of the church took place.[2]^: 284

The most unusual elements are the columns and capitals incorporated in the archway. The columns are definitely Roman in origin and perhaps brought from the Roman Legionary Fortress nearby at Caerleon.[13] One theory is that they had been brought here at a rather earlier date to form part of the shrine which may have previously existed over Gwynllyw’s grave and subsequently relocated into the portal to lead the way into the new building. If so, they would be symbols of the power of his cult and the desire of the Anglo-Norman conquerors of Wales to associate themselves with him.

The capitals are of Roman Composite type and, if they were indeed also originally Roman, they have been recut. Over generations, scholars have debated what the scenes represent. They were thought to be Biblical scenes – the Creation, Fall, Flood, Baptism of Christ, and the Trinity. Scenes from the lives of Gwynllyw and Cattwg have also been suggested. More recently, it has been suggested that they were intended to be understood on two levels as the scenes may have echoes both in the Bible and in the lives of the two saints honoured at this site. The style of the hair and tunics on the figures on the north (left-hand) capital echoes fourth-century Roman art which suggests that we are indeed contemplating sculpture which looks back to the very earliest phase of Christianity in Britain.[lower-alpha 2]

The Romanesque nave arcades seen from the south aisle

The nave consists of five Romanesque round arches rising from massive columnar piers on each side – a grand 12th century architectural scheme, but with rather less decoration than the Romanesque portal we have come through. This work was carried out under the patronage of the great abbey of Gloucester, or possibly Robert, Earl of Gloucester.[2]^: 287

Above, the rounded clerestory windows would once have let in daylight, but are now internal windows since the aisles to north and south were rebuilt with higher roofs in the Perpendicular style of the 15th century, with characteristically pointed flatter and wider windows. While the principal aim here was to increase the capacity of the church, it might also have been a reaction to fire damage caused during an attack of followers of Owain Glyndwr in 1402, in his attempt to re-establish an independent Wales.[5]^: 23–4 Supporting this theory is a tree-ring date (dendrochronology) of the early fifteenth century recently given to the fine medieval wagon roof of the nave.[lower-alpha 3]

The east end of the cathedral

The earlier chancel of the cathedral, regarded at the time as Victorian, or at least heavily restored by the Victorians, was demolished and rebuilt on a grander scale between 1960 and 1964 to provide a more cathedral-like chancel at the east end. The scheme also provided for a new chapel for the choir at the end of the south aisle, although the choir was subsequently relocated to its original place in front of the chancel, while the chapel, now dedicated to St Luke, is reserved for private prayer.

The architect of the extensions was Alban Caroe, whose distinguished family architectural partnership also undertook important work over several generations in Wales and elsewhere. Some regard his design as rather lacking in originality, but it does harmonise with the medieval fabric of the cathedral and the scale of the windows provide plenty of light. More controversial aspects are provided at the east end by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens, incorporating a round window with gold and brown stained glass and a great mural of red, white, black and grey which swirls down from the window to behind the high altar. The interpretation of this art is very much for the individual visitor.[14]

In the north wall of the chancel there is a low thirteenth-century window relocated from the earlier chancel. Tradition asserts that this was a window for lepers to watch services (and in its original position would have been near the ground), but this purpose is not certain.[15][8]^: 53

In the Middle Ages, at the entrance to the chancel, there would have been a rood screen with a loft and a large life-size crucifix above dividing it from the nave. The medieval doorways to the loft can still be seen high above the south west end of the chancel and at ground-level.[8]^: 44 A modern figure of the Crucified Christ now hangs in the chancel arch, the work of the Singaporean artist Tay Swee Siong.[16]

The more important monuments and tombs include:

St Mary's chapel – Several badly mutilated medieval effigies survive in the north wall recesses of the chapel. In the central recess is a sculptured panel of four weepers bearing the heraldic arms of Sir John Morgan of Tredegar, who died in 1493, a member of the Morgan family, which was influential in South Wales for centuries right up to the twentieth century. He was rewarded with important local positions for supporting the seizure of the English crown by Henry Tudor in 1485.

West end of south aisle – The tomb of Sir Walter Herbert (died 1568). Not much of the effigy remains, but the tomb as a whole demonstrates fine Renaissance work.

East end of north aisle, (Crindau Chapel) – Memorial brass to Octavius Morgan MP FSA (1803–1885), distinguished Welsh historian and antiquarian and of the family of Sir John Morgan above. He took a great interest in the history of St Woolos.[2]^: 279–91 His house, The Friars, is in the parish of St Woolos. A nearby stained glass window features the arms of the Morgan family and of the Dioceses of Gloucester and Llandaff which had rights over St Woolos before the Diocese of Monmouth was created.

Niche in the last column of the nave, south arcade – Statue of Gwynllyw holding up his church in memory of Noel Morris, who died in 1967 and was the son of Edwin Morris, a former Archbishop of Wales. While there has been speculation that the sculpture may be by Elizabeth Frinck, no artistic or documentary evidence for this has yet come to light.[8]^: 43

Apart from two abstract twentieth century windows by Frank Roper in the north side of St Mary's Chapel, the glass is Victorian and Edwardian. Some windows have had their decorative backgrounds removed. Several are by John Hardman and Co, including the Good Samaritan in the south wall of the south aisle and Christ blessing Children in the west wall of the north aisle as well as the window of Gwynllyw, Gwladys and Cattwg illustrated above.[17]

There is a long tradition of choral singing at the cathedral and music forms an important part in its life. The cathedral choir consists of three separate groups of singers: boys and girl choristers and adults, providing alto, tenor and bass parts. The choir sings at Sunday services and at Evensong on a Wednesday, as well as at other special services. The repertoire ranges from the seventeenth century to the twenty-first century.[18] The cathedral is also a popular venue for musical and other artistic performances.

The cathedral organ was rebuilt in 1966 by Hill, Norman and Beard, incorporating elements from two organs: one the earlier organ in the cathedral, built by Griffin and Stroud in 1915, and the other an organ built by Hill which was salvaged from the demolished Newport Old Town Hall. This 1966 organ was rebuilt in 1997 by Nicholson of Worcester.[19]

The organist and choirmaster is Dr Emma Gibbins, who was appointed in 2015.

The Chartist Memorial

During the Chartist Uprising in favour of democratic rights which centred on Newport on 4 November 1839, at least 22 people were shot by a party of the 45th Regiment of Foot in front of the Westgate Hotel. Many of these would have walked past the cathedral on their way to the town centre. A memorial outside the cathedral to the left of the lychgate commemorates ten of these who were buried in unmarked graves in St. Woolos churchyard.[20] A sculpture of a large pair of nineteenth-century workman's boots is placed near the gates to the north-east of the memorial to commemorate the march of the Chartists.

• by 500: Gwynllyw builds original church
• c. 500: Gwynllyw buried
• c 1000 Church replaced with a stone structure
• c. 1050: Attacked by Irish pirates
• 12th century: Anglo-Normans build nave and archway
• c. 1200: St Mary's chapel substantially remodelled
• 1402: Damaged by followers of Owain Glyndwr
• 15th century: Tower and aisles built
• c 1650: Monuments damaged by Puritans
• 1819: St Mary's chapel restored
• 1853: Full restoration
• 1854: The new St Woolos Cemetery opens 1 mile to the west of the cathedral
• 1869: Last burials in the old graveyard in the cathedral ground
• 1913: Full restoration and re-roofing.
• 1922: Designated pro-cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth
• 1949: Full cathedral status
• 1960–4: Chancel replaced on grander scale to designs by Alban Caroe
• 1987: Choir Chapel refurbished as St Luke’s Chapel
• 1997: Renovation of organ
• 2006: Pews removed to provide flexibility of use and sense of space and architecture
• 2011: Roof renovation

• 1931–1946 (ret.): John Phillips[21]
• 1946–17 March 1952 (d.): Joseph Davies[22]
• 1952–1953 (res.): John Lloyd Thomas[23]
• 1953–1975 (ret.): Ellis Evans[24]
• 1976–1990 (ret.): Frank Jenkins[25]
• 1990–1996 (ret.): Gareth Lewis[26]
• March 1997 – May 2011 (res.): Richard Fenwick[27]
• 10 September–21 November 2011 (d.): Jeremy Winston[28]
• 31 March 2012 – 2018: Lister Tonge[29]

In 2018, the title of the post was changed to Dean of Newport.[30]

• 2018–2020: Lister Tonge[31]
• 22 May 2021 – present: Ian Black[32]

• Official website
• Church in Wales: Newport Cathedral
• Newport Cathedral Website
• Go Britannia Travel Guide
• Artwork at Newport Cathedral

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