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Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Church in Wales
Church in Wales

The Church in Wales is a member Church of the Anglican Communion, consisting of six dioceses in Wales. Like many Anglican churches, it recognizes the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who does not however have any formal authority in Wales ....
 Bishop of Llandaff
Bishop of Llandaff

The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff....
, situated in the suburb of Llandaff
Llandaff

Llandaff is a district in the Cardiff North of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922, and is also the see of a Diocese of Llandaff of the Church in Wales, covering the most populous area of South Wales....
 in the city of Cardiff
Cardiff

Cardiff is the Capital , largest city and most populous Unitary authority#Wales in Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sport institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of Welsh Assembly Government ....
, the capital of Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
. It is dedicated to Saint Peter
Saint Peter

Saint Peter was a leader of the early Christianity church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles....
 and Saint Paul, and also to three Welsh
Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language. John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, although Celtic languages seem to have been spoken in Wales far longer....
 saint
Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
s: Dyfrig
Dubricius

Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Britons ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the and evangelist of Ergyng and much of South Wales....
, Teilo
Teilo

Saint Teilo was a leader of the Celtic Christianity church in Wales during the 6th century. His exact dates of birth and death are unknown but Penally in Pembrokeshire is considered his birthplace....
 and Euddogwy
Oudoceus

Saint Oudoceus or Saint Euddogwy is generally known as the third Bishop of Llandaff. In reality, he was probably a 7th century 'Bishop of Llandaff' based at Llandeilo Fawr....
, and is one of two cathedrals in Cardiff, the other being the Roman Catholic cathedral
Cardiff Cathedral

Cardiff Cathedral is also known as Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral of St David and St David's Cathedral Cardiff. It is a Roman Catholic Church cathedral in Cardiff, Wales and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff....
 in the city centre.

e is evidence for Celtic Christian
Celtic Christianity

Celtic Christianity, or Insular Christianity broadly refers to the Early Middle Ages Christian practice that developed in Britain and Ireland before and during the post-Roman period, when Germanic invasions sharply reduced contact between the broadly Celts populations of Britons and Irish with Christians on the Continent until their s...
 worship on the site the cathedral
Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
 from the 6th century and the original church is said to have been built by Saint Teilo on the bank of the River Taff
River Taff

The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It is known as the Afon Taf in Welsh language.It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons - the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr , before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil....
 in 560.






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Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Church in Wales
Church in Wales

The Church in Wales is a member Church of the Anglican Communion, consisting of six dioceses in Wales. Like many Anglican churches, it recognizes the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who does not however have any formal authority in Wales ....
 Bishop of Llandaff
Bishop of Llandaff

The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff....
, situated in the suburb of Llandaff
Llandaff

Llandaff is a district in the Cardiff North of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922, and is also the see of a Diocese of Llandaff of the Church in Wales, covering the most populous area of South Wales....
 in the city of Cardiff
Cardiff

Cardiff is the Capital , largest city and most populous Unitary authority#Wales in Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sport institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of Welsh Assembly Government ....
, the capital of Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
. It is dedicated to Saint Peter
Saint Peter

Saint Peter was a leader of the early Christianity church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles....
 and Saint Paul, and also to three Welsh
Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language. John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, although Celtic languages seem to have been spoken in Wales far longer....
 saint
Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
s: Dyfrig
Dubricius

Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Britons ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the and evangelist of Ergyng and much of South Wales....
, Teilo
Teilo

Saint Teilo was a leader of the Celtic Christianity church in Wales during the 6th century. His exact dates of birth and death are unknown but Penally in Pembrokeshire is considered his birthplace....
 and Euddogwy
Oudoceus

Saint Oudoceus or Saint Euddogwy is generally known as the third Bishop of Llandaff. In reality, he was probably a 7th century 'Bishop of Llandaff' based at Llandeilo Fawr....
, and is one of two cathedrals in Cardiff, the other being the Roman Catholic cathedral
Cardiff Cathedral

Cardiff Cathedral is also known as Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral of St David and St David's Cathedral Cardiff. It is a Roman Catholic Church cathedral in Cardiff, Wales and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff....
 in the city centre.

Medieval history

There is evidence for Celtic Christian
Celtic Christianity

Celtic Christianity, or Insular Christianity broadly refers to the Early Middle Ages Christian practice that developed in Britain and Ireland before and during the post-Roman period, when Germanic invasions sharply reduced contact between the broadly Celts populations of Britons and Irish with Christians on the Continent until their s...
 worship on the site the cathedral
Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
 from the 6th century and the original church is said to have been built by Saint Teilo on the bank of the River Taff
River Taff

The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It is known as the Afon Taf in Welsh language.It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons - the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr , before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil....
 in 560. After his death, his shrine became a place of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage

File:Supplicating Pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram. Mecca, Saudi Arabia.jpgIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long quest or search of great moral significance....
. The monastic settlement survived for many centuries before the establishment of the diocese
Diocese

In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bi...
 of Llandaff at some point shortly after 1020.

The Normans
Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock....
 occupied Glamorgan
Glamorgan

Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen Historic counties of Wales and a former Administrative divisions of Wales of Wales. It was originally an early medieval monarchy of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Anglo-Norman as a lordship....
 early, and appointed Urban
Urban, Bishop of Llandaff

Urban was the first bishop of South East Wales to call himself Bishop of Llandaff. He was of a Welsh clerical family and his baptismal name in the Welsh language is given in charter sources as Gwrgan....
 their first bishop in 1107. He began construction of the cathedral in 1120 and had the remains of Saint Dyfrig
Dubricius

Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Britons ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the and evangelist of Ergyng and much of South Wales....
 transferred from Bardsey
Bardsey Island

Bardsey Island lies off the Llyn peninsula, in Gwynedd, north Wales. The island is the site of a monastery founded by Saint Cadfan in the sixth century, and of Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory....
, but the work was not completed until 1290. The west front dates from 1220, and contains a statue of Teilo. Bishop Henry de Abergavenny
Henry de Abergavenny

Henry de Abergavenny was Prior of Abergavenny and Bishop of Llandaff, both in South Wales.Henry was a Benedictine monk who became Prior of Abergavenny, before succeeding to the diocese of Llandaff which had been vacant for two years....
 gave the cathedral its statutes. The Lady Chapel was built by William de Braose
William de Braose (bishop)

William de Braose was a Bishop of Llandaff, now in modern day Cardiff, Wales....
, who was bishop from 1266 to 1287. Damage was done to the church in 1400, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr

Owain Glyndwr , or Owain Glyn Dwr, anglicised by William Shakespeare into Owen Glendower and also sometimes styled Owain IV of Wales by modern historians, was a Wales ruler and the last native Welsh people to hold the title Prince of Wales....
, and his forces destroyed the Bishop's Palace at Llandaff. However, most of the other damage was repaired notably by Bishop Marshall
John Marshall (bishop)

John Marshall was a Bishop of Llandaff in Wales.John was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford and a Canon of St George's Chapel, Windsor. On 6 September 1478, he was consecrated Bishop of Llandaff....
 whose reredos partly survives, and the north-east tower (the one without a spire) was added by Jasper Tudor, and is now named after him. He assumed the lordship of Cardiff after the accession to the throne of his nephew, King Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England

Henry VII was the Kingdom of England and Lordship of Ireland from his usurpation of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty....
. Late medieval tombs include that of Sir David Mathew.

During the English Civil War
English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Roundhead and Cavalier. The First English Civil War and Second English Civil War civil wars pitted the supporters of Charles I of England against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the Third English Civil War saw fighting between supporters...
, the cathedral was overrun by Parliamentarian troops, and by 1720 the southwest tower was in a state of collapse. In 1734, work began on a new cathedral, nicknamed the "Italian Temple", which was used for a hundred years but never completed and of which only a few stones remain.

Victorian and modern history

During the 19th century, when the Bishop of Llandaff began, for the first time for centuries, to reside in Llandaff, the cathedral was extensively restored, the tower rebuilt and a spire added. Much of the restoration work was completed by local architect John Prichard
John Prichard

John Prichard was a Wales architect of the neo-Gothic style. John Prichard was the son of Richard Prichard a rector from Llangan, Glamorgan and was born on the 6th May 1817....
 between 1843 and 1869. A triptych
Triptych

A triptych is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three Wood carving panels which are hinged together and folded. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works; the diptych has two panels....
 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, Painting and translator....
 was designed for use as a reredos
Reredos

There are two common meanings of the word reredos. In general architecture, the word can mean the back of an open hearth of a fireplace or a screen placed behind a table....
, and new stained glass
Stained glass

For the Blackford Oakes novel, see Stained Glass The term stained glass can refer to the material of coloured glass or the craft of working with it....
 windows were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was an England artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris & Co.....
 and Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown was an England painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth version of the Pre-Raphaelite style....
. The office of Dean
Dean (religion)

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church....
 was separated from that of the Archdeacon
Archdeacon

A position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop....
 of Llandaff in November 1843. The cathedral school
The Cathedral School, Llandaff

The Cathedral School, Llandaff is a coeducational Welsh independent school day prep school. It is located in Llandaff, Cardiff and has many links to the neighbouring Llandaff Cathedral....
 which existed from the time of the Elizabethan Bishop Blethyn
William Blethyn

William Blethyn was a prebendary of York and a bishop of Llandaff. He died in 1591....
 until about 1700 was re-established by Dean Vaughan in 1880.

's "Christ in Majesty"]]

On the evening of January 2, 1941 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 a German bomb fell beside the cathedral, causing massive destruction including that of the organ
Organ (music)

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either Manual or Pedal clavier. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the European classical music....
. Of British cathedrals, only Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral, also known as Michael Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands , England....
 was damaged more.

Major restorations and reconfigurations were carried out under architect George Pace
George Pace

George Pace , English architect, was born in Croydon, Surrey.He won many prizes as a student including the Pugin Studentship in 1937 and the Royal Institute of British Architects Asphitel Prize for the best architectural student in England....
 of York, and the building was back in use in June 1958. The Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of Canada, Monarchy of Australia, Monarchy of New Zealand, Monarchy of Jamaica, Monarchy of Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Monarchy of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sain...
 attended a service celebrating the completion of the restoration on August 6, 1960. The Welch Regiment
Welch Regiment

The Welch Regiment was a British Army regiment from 1881 to 1969....
 memorial chapel was constructed, and Sir Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein

Sir Jacob Epstein was an American-born sculptor who worked chiefly in the UK, where he pioneered modern sculpture, often producing controversial works that challenged taboos concerning what public artworks appropriately depict....
 created the figure of Christ in Majesty which is suspended above the nave on a concrete arch designed by George Pace
George Pace

George Pace , English architect, was born in Croydon, Surrey.He won many prizes as a student including the Pugin Studentship in 1937 and the Royal Institute of British Architects Asphitel Prize for the best architectural student in England....
.

In February 2007 the cathedral suffered a severe lightning
Lightning

File:Blesk.jpgLightning is an Earth's atmosphere discharge of electricity usually accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcano or dust storms....
 strike. Particular damage was caused to the electrics of the organ
Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a keyboard musical instrument that produces sound by venting mechanically compressed air through resonant Organ pipe. Each pipe produces sound at one fixed pitch, so they are provided in sets or "ranks" with one pipe or more per note, each rank having a common timbre and loudness throughout....
, which was already in poor condition. This prompted the launch, on 13 July 2007 (the 50th anniversary of the re-hallowing
Consecration

Consecration is the ritual dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred"....
 of the nave following the wartime damage), of an appeal to raise £1.5 million for the construction of an entirely new organ.

Music

The cathedral has the traditional Anglican choir
Choir

A choir, chorale, or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral Music, in turn, is the music written specifically for a choir to perform....
 of boys and men, and more recently a girls' choir, with the only dedicated choir school in the Church in Wales, The Cathedral School, Llandaff
The Cathedral School, Llandaff

The Cathedral School, Llandaff is a coeducational Welsh independent school day prep school. It is located in Llandaff, Cardiff and has many links to the neighbouring Llandaff Cathedral....
. In addition, the parish choir sings at the weekly Parish Eucharist
Eucharist

The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christianity sacrament commemorating, by consecrating bread and wine, the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest, and eventual crucifixion, when he gave them bread saying, "This is my body", and wine...
, and is a mixed choir of boys, girls, men and women. Women were only allowed to sing in the choir from 2005 onwards.

The most recent organ was installed after the wartime damage, and was never entirely satisfactory, even before the lightning damage. Originally it had been planned to install a new organ at that time, but the costs of about 1 million pounds were deemed to be too high in the austere climate of post-war Britain. Work on installing the new organ, by the Nicholson's of Malvern firm of organ builders, was scheduled to start in Autumn 2008 and be completed in 18 months. This is believed to be the largest entirely new organ for a British cathedral since that for Coventry. A specification can be seen here.

The cathedral has a ring
Ring of bells

"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bell hung in the England style, typically for change ringing. Often hung in a church tower, such a set can include from three to sixteen bells , usually musical tuning to the notes of a diatonic scale ....
 of twelve bells (with an additional "flat sixth", to make thirteen in total) hung for change-ringing, located in the Jasper tower. The current bells were installed in 1992, replacing a previous ring of ten.

List of organists


  • 1861 John Bernard Wilkes
  • 1866 Francis Edward Gladstone
    Francis Edward Gladstone

    Francis Edward Gladstone, born 2 March 1845 in Summertown, Oxford was an English Organist....
  • 1870 Theodore Edward Aylward
    Theodore Aylward

    Theodore Edward Aylward, 1844-1933Theodore was born in Salisbury and later became a pupil of S. S. Wesley and was Organist of St. Matthew's Church, Cheltenham, St....
  • 1876 Charles Lee Williams
  • 1882 Hugh Brooksbank
  • 1894 George Galloway Beale
  • 1937 William Henry Gabb
  • 1946 Albert Vernon Butcher
  • 1949 Thomas Hallford
  • 1950 Eric Arthur Coningsby
  • 1955 Charles Kenneth Turner
  • 1957 Eric Howard Fletcher
  • 1958 Robert Henry Joyce
  • 1974 Michael John Smith
  • 2000 Richard Moorhouse


Assistant organists


  • Graham John Elliott 1966 - 1970 (afterwards organist of St Asaph Cathedral
    St Asaph Cathedral

    St Asaph Cathedral, at St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales, is sometimes claimed to be the smallest Anglican cathedral in Great Britain....
    )
Micheal Heog 1970 -

External links


  • .