St. Woolos Cathedral

The town of Newport (Cas Newydd), a busy industrial and commercial hub, is the third largest town in Wales (c. l20,000 pop). It is not a priority on most tourists' itineraries, seemingly having little to offer the visitor. But it is here that we visit our first cathedral as well as the site of one of the most serious popular uprisings in British history.

Situated on Stow Hill, overlooking the town center is the least-known of the Welsh cathedrals and probably the least visited: St. Woolo'. This is the most modern of the six cathedrals of Wales, having been a Parish church until l92l. It did not receive the status of a full cathedral until l949, following the formation of the Diocese of Monmouth. The church is named after a fifth-century Welsh nobleman, Gwynllyw, lord of Gwynllwg, 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. The hill was Stow Hill, and Gwynllyw built the first church there. In a heavily anglicized area that was also one of the first provinces of Wales to be controlled by the Normans, the name Gwynllyw, or Wentlooge, was quickly corrupted to Woolos. It is written that Gwynlliw and his wife Gwladys practiced cold water bathing in the Usk all year-round, preceded and followed at night by a mile long walk in the nude!

In the latter part of the twelfth century, Robert Fitzhamon erected another church on Stow Hill. This lasted until mid-fifteenth century, when warfare involving Welsh patriot Owain Glyndwr against the Norman rulers of Wales led to its almost total destruction. The north and south aisles were then rebuilt and the tall tower was added. The columns of the fine Norman arch that remains 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.