Newport Cathedral, Newport

Newport Cathedral was so-designated relatively recently, in 1949, though the building itself has a long history, containing some elements pre-dating the Norman conquest, and a religious centre has existed on this site since the fifth century. The cathedral services the Diocese of Monmouth, formed in 1921 by annexing the eastern section of the ancient Diocese of Llandaff which, due to population expansion in the south Wales valleys, had become too large.

One option for the cathedral of the new diocese was a brand-new building, while another, much more far-fetched, was to reconstruct Tintern Abbey, however the eventual solution was to upgrade the church in Newport; this was originally known as St Gwynllyw's Church ('St Gundleus' in Latin), named after the 5th century Welsh king Gwynllyw, whose anglicized name is Woolos. The official title of the building is now Cathedral Church of St Woolos, King and Confessor.


The building is much smaller and less ornate than many of the large medieval cathedrals in the country, reflecting its former status as a parish church, and the bulk of the structure is somewhat more recent, from the 15th century or later, but it does have some much older components, including Norman columns in the nave, and, at the entrance to the nave a fine Norman portal, which contains elaborate stone capitals thought to be Roman in origin.

Location

Newport Cathedral sits on a little hill just south of Newport town centre, circled by two roads - Clifton Road to the north and Stow Hill to the south, with free parking available along the former. The building is orientated west to east, the main entrance to the west, and it is surrounded by lawns and mature trees. The old graveyard is on the north side.

The Cathedral

The main doorway opens into a porch, below a square tower from the 15th century, perpendicular Gothic in style, its upper reaches accessed by a spiral staircase at one corner. The porch leads to the lady chapel, also known as St Mary's chapel, the walls of which are mostly from the 13th century but include a few pre-conquest sections. A stone font is positioned just beyond the entrance, probably incorporating part of a Norman original though the majority was constructed in Victorian times. The chapel marks the original church of St Gwynllyw, which was rebuilt in stone around 1000, and it may even still contain the king's tomb. The chapel is linked to the main part of the church by the most famous feature in the cathedral, the ornate semicircular doorway, or portal, built in Norman times in the Romanesque style, adorned with deeply incised chevrons. Beyond is the nave, lined by north and south transepts, each delineated by four Norman circular columns, plus a porch to the south. The walls of the nave are from the 15th century. At the east end of the cathedral is the chancel, linking with several other rooms, all dating from mid 20th century modifications, after designation of the building as a cathedral.