Llandaff Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff
Bishop of Llandaff
The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...

, head of the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...

 Diocese of Llandaff
Diocese of Llandaff
The Diocese of Llandaff is a Church in Wales diocese. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Llandaff, a suburb of Cardiff...

. It is situated in the district of Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...

 in the city of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, the capital of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. The current building was constructed in the 12th century over the site of an earlier church. It is dedicated to Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

 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 departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

 saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

s: Dubricius
Dubricius
Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Briton ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng and much of South-East Wales.-Biography:Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng...

 , Teilo and Oudoceus
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 Teilo' based at Llandeilo Fawr...

 . It is one of two cathedrals in Cardiff, the other being the Catholic Cardiff Cathedral
Cardiff Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David, also known as St David's Cathedral Cardiff is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff. Located in Charles Street, the Cathedral remains the focal point for Catholic...

 in the city centre.

Medieval history

Llandaff Cathedral was built on the site of an existing church. According to tradition, the community was established by Saint Dubricius
Dubricius
Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Briton ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng and much of South-East Wales.-Biography:Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng...

 at a ford on the River Taff
River Taff
The River Taff is a large river in Wales. 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...

, and the first church was founded by Dubricius' successor Saint Teilo. These two are regarded as the cathedral's patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

s, along with their successor Oudoceus
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 Teilo' based at Llandeilo Fawr...

. The original church is no longer extant, but a standing Celtic cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...

 testifies to the presence of Christian worship at the site in pre-Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 times.
The Normans occupied Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...

 early in the Norman Conquest, 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 Briton ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng and much of South-East Wales.-Biography:Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng...

 transferred from Bardsey
Bardsey Island
Bardsey Island , the legendary "Island of 20,000 saints", lies off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", although its English name refers to the "Island of the Bards", or possibly the island of the Viking chieftan, "Barda". It is ...

, 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. He was consecrated on 12 December 1193...

 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.-Dynastic Family Background:A younger member of great, long lived and at times very powerful de Braose family dynasty of Norman and medieval English Marcher Lords, holding key posts and vital Lordships in the Welsh...

, who was bishop from 1266 to 1287. Damage was done to the church in 1400, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman 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 Windsor. On 6 September 1478, he was consecrated Bishop of Llandaff. He is well remembered for having repaired the damage done to the cathedral during Owain Glyndŵr's reign. He also erected...

 whose reredos partly survives, and the north-west 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 King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....

. Late medieval tombs include that of Sir David Mathew(d.1484).

During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, 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", to the designs of John Wood, the Elder
John Wood, the Elder
John Wood, the Elder, , was an English architect. Born in Twerton England, a village near Bath, now a suburb, he went to school in Bath. He came back to Bath after working in Yorkshire, and it is believed, in London, in his early 20s...

, which was used for a hundred years but never completed and of which only a few stones remain.

Victorian and modern history

During the 18th 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 Welsh architect of the neo-Gothic style. John Prichard was the son of Richard Prichard a rector from Llangan, Glamorgan and was born on 6 May 1817. He established a practice in Llandaff, Cardiff where he became the diocesan architect. Between 1852 and 1863 he set up a...

 between 1843 and 1869. A triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...

 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...

 was designed for use as a reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....

, and new stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

 windows were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...

 and Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work...

. 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 Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...

 was separated from that of the Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...

 of Llandaff in November 1843. The cathedral school
The Cathedral School, Llandaff
The Cathedral School, Llandaff is a coeducational Welsh independent senior, prep and pre-prep day school. It is located in Llandaff, Cardiff. The school is part of the Woodard Schools foundation, as well as having many links to the neighbouring Llandaff Cathedral.In 1880 Dean John Vaughan opened a...

 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.-References:...

 until about 1700 was re-established by Dean Vaughan in 1880.
On the evening of 2 January 1941 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the cathedral was severely damaged when a landmine was dropped near it during the Cardiff Blitz
Cardiff Blitz
The Cardiff Blitz refers to the bombing of Cardiff, Wales during World War II.At the time, Cardiff Docks was the biggest coal port in the world and, for a few years before World War I, it handled a greater tonnage of cargo than either London or Liverpool....

, blowing the roof off the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

, south aisle and chapter house. The top of the spire also had to be reconstructed and there was also damage to the organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

. Of British cathedrals, only Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....

 was damaged more, during the infamous Coventry Blitz
Coventry Blitz
The Coventry blitz was a series of bombing raids that took place in the English city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Second World War by the German Air Force...

.

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 RIBA 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 constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 attended a service celebrating the completion of the restoration on 6 August 1960. The Welch Regiment
Welch Regiment
The Welch Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1969.-History:It was formed as the Welsh Regiment during the Childers Reforms of 1881, by the amalgamation of the 41st Regiment of Foot and the 69th Regiment of Foot...

 memorial chapel was constructed, and Sir Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...

 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 RIBA Asphitel Prize for the best architectural student in England....

.

In February 2007 the cathedral suffered a severe lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...

 strike. Particular damage was caused to the electrics of the organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

, 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 solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 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 such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 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 senior, prep and pre-prep day school. It is located in Llandaff, Cardiff. The school is part of the Woodard Schools foundation, as well as having many links to the neighbouring Llandaff Cathedral.In 1880 Dean John Vaughan opened a...

. In addition, the parish choir sings at the weekly Parish Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

, and is a mixed choir of boys, girls, men and women. Women were only allowed to sing in the choir from 2005 onwards.

The organ that was installed after the wartime damage 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, began in autumn 2008. Though not fully completed, it was brought to a playable stage by Easter 2010 and had its inaugural performance (the Gloria of Louis Vierne's Messe Solennelle) at the Easter Vigil service on 3 April 2010. The stops still lacking, due to the necessary funding not yet having been acquired, are those of the enclosed solo and some pedal stops. This is the first 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 bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...

 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.-Career:He was a pupil of Samuel Sebastian Wesley at Winchester Cathedral.He was*Organist of Holy Trinity Church, Weston Super Mare 1864 - 1866...

  • 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. Columba's College, Rathfarnham and St. Martin's, Salisbury, before succeeding Francis Edward Gladstone at Llandaff Cathedral in 1870...

  • 1876 Charles Lee Williams
  • 1882 Hugh Brooksbank
  • 1894 George Galloway Beale
  • 1937 William Henry Gabb
    Harry Gabb
    Harry Gabb CVO was an English organist, who served at Llandaff Cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral and the Chapel Royal.-Background: Harry Gabb was born in Ilford, Essex on 5 April 1909...

  • 1946 Albert Vernon Butcher
  • 1949 Thomas Hallford
  • 1950 Eric Arthur Coningsby
  • 1952 Charles Kenneth Turner
  • 1957 Eric Howard Fletcher
  • 1958 Robert Henry Joyce
  • 1974 Michael John Smith
  • 2000 Richard Moorhouse

Assistant organists

  • R. M. Powney 1940 - ?
  • Graham John Elliott 1966 - 1970 (afterwards organist of St Asaph Cathedral
    St Asaph Cathedral
    St Asaph Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is sometimes claimed to be the smallest Anglican cathedral in Britain.- History :...

    )
  • Michael Hoeg M.B.E 1980 - 2010
  • James Norrey 2010 -

Burials

  • Dubricius
    Dubricius
    Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Briton ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng and much of South-East Wales.-Biography:Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng...

    , 6th-century Briton
    Briton
    - Peoples :* British people, citizens of the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, or of one of the British overseas territories* Britons , ancient Celtic people from the island of Great Britain- Newspapers :...

     Saint
    Saint
    A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

     who evangelized Ergyng
    Ergyng
    Ergyng was a Welsh kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as Archenfield.-Location:...

     (now Archenfield) and much of South-East Wales
    South Wales
    South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

    , his body was transferred to Llandaff Cathedral in 1120.
  • Teilo, 6th-century Welsh
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

     clergyman, church founder and Saint
    Saint
    A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

  • Oudoceus
    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 Teilo' based at Llandeilo Fawr...

    , 7th-century third Bishop of Llandaff
    Bishop of Llandaff
    The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...

    , was supposedly buried at the church in Llandaff on the site of which the present Cathedral now stands.
  • John Marshall (bishop)
    John Marshall (bishop)
    John Marshall was a Bishop of Llandaff in Wales.John was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford and a canon of Windsor. On 6 September 1478, he was consecrated Bishop of Llandaff. He is well remembered for having repaired the damage done to the cathedral during Owain Glyndŵr's reign. He also erected...

    , Bishop of Llandaff (1478–1496)
  • Hugh Lloyd (bishop)
    Hugh Lloyd (bishop)
    Hugh Lloyd was a Welsh cleric who was the Anglican bishop of Llandaff from 1660 until his death in 1667....

    , Bishop of Llandaff (1660–1667)
  • Francis Davies
    Francis Davies
    Francis Davies was a Welsh clergyman who was Bishop of Llandaff from 1667 until his death.-Life:Davies was born in Glamorgan, Wales and educated at Jesus College, Oxford, matriculating in November 1621. He was awarded his BA in 1625, his MA in 1628 and a BD degree in 1640...

    , Bishop of Llandaff (1667–1675)
  • Alfred Ollivant
    Alfred Ollivant
    Alfred Ollivant was an academic who went on to become bishop of Llandaff.Born in Manchester, he was educated at St Paul's School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He won the Tyrwhitt Hebrew scholarship in 1822 and was elected to a fellowship at Trinity College. In 1827, he was appointed the first...

    , Bishop of Llandaff (1849–1882)

External links

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