| Llandaff Cathedral | |
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Authorising papal bull | none |
| Significant events | Badly damaged during World War II - 1941 |
| Significant associated people | Jasper Tudor Dante Gabriel Rossetti |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Llandaff (Landavensis) |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | George de Athequa Anthony Kitchin |
Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is situated in the district of Llandaff in the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The current building was constructed in the 12th century over the site of an earlier church. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and also to three Welsh saints: Dubricius (Welsh: Dyfrig), Teilo and Oudoceus (Welsh: Euddogwy). It is one of two cathedrals in Cardiff, the other being the Catholic Cardiff Cathedral in the city centre.
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Medieval history
Llandaff Cathedral was built on the site of an existing church. According to tradition, the community was established by Saint Dubricius at a ford on the River Taff, and the first church was founded by Dubricius' successor Saint Teilo.[1] These two are regarded as the cathedral's patron saints, along with their successor Oudoceus.[1] The original church is no longer extant, but a standing Celtic cross testifies to the presence of Christian worship at the site in pre-Norman times.
The Normans occupied Glamorgan early in the Norman Conquest, and appointed Urban their first bishop in 1107. He began construction of the cathedral in 1120 and had the remains of Saint Dyfrig transferred from Bardsey, but the work was not completed until 1290. The west front dates from 1220, and contains a statue of Teilo. Bishop Henry de Abergavenny gave the cathedral its statutes. The Lady Chapel was built by William de Braose, who was bishop from 1266 to 1287. Damage was done to the church in 1400, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr, and his forces destroyed the Bishop's Palace at Llandaff. However, most of the other damage was repaired notably by Bishop Marshall 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. Late medieval tombs include that of Sir David Mathew.
During the English Civil War, 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 between 1843 and 1869.[2] A triptych by Dante Gabriel Rossetti was designed for use as a reredos, and new stained glass windows were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Madox Brown. The office of Dean was separated from that of the Archdeacon of Llandaff in November 1843.[3] The cathedral school which existed from the time of the Elizabethan Bishop Blethyn until about 1700 was re-established by Dean Vaughan in 1880.
On the evening of 2 January 1941 during World War II the cathedral was severely damaged when a landmine was dropped near it during the Cardiff Blitz, blowing the roof off the nave, south aisle and chapter house. The top of the spire also had to be reconstructed[4] and there was also damage to the organ. Of British cathedrals, only Coventry Cathedral was damaged more, during the infamous Coventry Blitz.
Major restorations and reconfigurations were carried out under architect George Pace of York, and the building was back in use in June 1958. The Queen attended a service celebrating the completion of the restoration on 6 August 1960. The Welch Regiment memorial chapel was constructed, and Sir Jacob Epstein created the figure of Christ in Majesty which is suspended above the nave on a concrete arch designed by George Pace.
In February 2007 the cathedral suffered a severe lightning strike. Particular damage was caused to the electrics of the organ, which was already in poor condition. This prompted the launch, on 13 July 2007 (the 50th anniversary of the re-hallowing of the nave following the wartime damage), of an appeal to raise £1.5 million for the construction of an entirely new organ.[5]
Music
The cathedral has the traditional Anglican choir 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.[6] In addition, the parish choir sings at the weekly Parish Eucharist, and is a mixed choir of boys, girls, men and women. Women were only allowed to sing in the choir from 2005 onwards.[7]
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.[5] A specification can be seen here.
The cathedral has a ring 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.[1][8]
List of organists
- 1861 John Bernard Wilkes
- 1866 Francis Edward Gladstone
- 1870 Theodore Edward Aylward
- 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)
- Michael Hoeg 1980 -
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
References
- ^ a b c "A short history". Llandaff Cathedral website. Dean and Chapter of Llandaff Cathedral. http://www.llandaffcathedral.org.uk/history.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales page 710, John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) ISBN 9780708319536
- ^ London Gazette: no. 20314, p. 400, 6 February 1844. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ "Llandaff cathedral". http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=2768. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
- ^ a b "The Cathedral organ appeal". Llandaff Cathedral website. Dean and Chapter of Llandaff Cathedral. 2007-07-13. http://www.llandaffcathedral.org.uk/Organ%20Appeal.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ "Choir Schools' Association School in Wales". website of the Choir Schools' Association. http://www.choirschools.org.uk/2csahtml/2schools/wales.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-10. The Roman Catholic Cardiff Cathedral also has a choir school
- ^ "The Cathedral Parish Choir". Llandaff Cathedral website. Dean and Chapter of Llandaff Cathedral. http://www.llandaffcathedral.org.uk/music.htm#Parish%20Choir. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ "Dove details: Llandaff Cath, Metropolitical, and Parish Ch of SS Peter & Paul". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. 2007-08-27. http://www.cccbr.org.uk/dove/detail.php?searchString=llandaff&numPerPage=10&searchAmount=%3D&searchMetric=cwt&sortBy=Place&sortDir=Asc&DoveID=LLANDAFF. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
External links
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Coordinates: 51°29′45″N 3°13′5″W / 51.49583°N 3.21806°W
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