Cathedral of St Asaph

View from the southwest

The Cathedral of St Asaph is the smallest Episcopal Church in England and Wales . Classified as a Grade I cultural monument, the church sits on a hill in the middle of the small town of St Asaph in Denbighshire in Wales.

history

Kentigern , the bishop of Strathclyde , is said to have founded a monastery community in Llanelwy in 560 . Before returning to Scotland, he installed Asaph as Abbot Bishop in 573 , after whom the diocese was later named. The first Norman bishops of the now called St Asaph diocese built a new cathedral after 1143, a little away from the old monastery church. Due to its location on the military road through North Wales, it was damaged or destroyed several times in the numerous wars between the Welsh princes and the English kings in the 12th and 13th centuries. The oldest remaining parts of today's church are on the west side and the choir and were built around 1239 under Bishop Hugh.

In 1281 the bones of St. Asaph of Llanasa were transferred to the new cathedral. During the campaign of Edward I to conquer Wales , the cathedral was burned down by English soldiers in June 1282. Bishop Anian II excommunicated the English soldiers, whereupon he lost the favor of the English king and had to flee from St Asaph. As compensation for the destruction of the church, the English king, who originally wanted to move the seat of the diocese to the Rhuddlan he founded, paid the dean and the chapter only 100 pounds . From 1284 the reconstruction of the cathedral began. Most of the structure was built between 1310 and 1320 by builder Henry of Ellerton , who was also involved in the construction of Caernarfon Castle . In 1392 the construction of the cathedral was completed with the completion of the bell tower.

As early as 1402, however, the cathedral was badly damaged by the rebels during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr . It was only towards the end of the rebellion after 1411 that the ship received a new roof; the further repairs dragged on until 1482. The church was damaged again in the 17th century during the English Civil War . From 1778 to 1779 the choir was rebuilt by Joseph Turner . From 1869 to 1875 the church was extensively restored by George Gilbert Scott .

Aerial view

investment

The cathedral was built as a cross-shaped three-aisled basilica in the decorated style . The transept is two -bay each , the elongated three-bay east choir has a straight end with a large east window. Above the crossing , the cathedral has a low, helmetless crossing tower with a neo-Gothic battlement. For the construction of the cathedral, yellowish limestone made of flint was used in the 13th and 14th centuries and, above all, red sandstone from a local quarry on the south and west facades . The roof is covered with slate. The interior is not plastered. The flat-roofed, narrow aisles are separated from the nave by five arcades with pillars without a chapter. The choir and nave have wooden vaults that were renewed in 1968 on the occasion of Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales.

Inside are numerous grave monuments, including those for Bishop Anian II, Bishop William Morgan and a plaque for the African explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who was born in Denbighshire . The rest of the furnishings are largely neo-Gothic and come from the 18th and 19th centuries. The north transept, separated by the organ dating from the 1830s, serves as Translators' Chapel , in which an edition of the William Morgan Bible from 1588, a Bible printed in 1620 by Richard Parry and an edition of the New Testament by William Salusbury from 1567 are on display are.

The stained glass windows are from the 19th century, the glass of the west window from the 20th century. On the north side there is still a round arched portal in the Norman style , which led into the chapter house , which was demolished around 1778 .