St. Woolos Cathedral

Newport Cathedral
Cathedral Church of St. Woolos, King & Confessor
St Woolos Cathedral south face
Location	Newport
Country	Wales
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Newport Cathedral website
History
Founded	5th century
Founder(s)	Gwynllyw
Dedication	Gwynllyw
Events	Rebuilt 9th century Extended 12th, 15th and 20th centuries
Past bishop(s)	Rowan Williams
Associated people	Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Architecture
Status	Cathedral
Heritage designation	Class I listed
Administration
Parish	St. Woolos
Archdeaconry	Newport
Diocese	Diocese of Monmouth
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Richard Pain
Dean	Lister Tonge

Newport Cathedral in the city of Newport in South East Wales is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth, in the Church in Wales, and seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its full title is Newport Cathedral of St. Woolos, King & Confessor.

The name "Woolos" is a corruption of Gwynllyw, the 5th-century Welsh saint who first founded a religious establishment on the site.

The present building has sections that date from Anglo-Saxon times. In the 9th century the wooden church formerly on the site was rebuilt in stone. This indicates the importance of the cult of Saint Gwynllyw and the wealth of his shrine as stone buildings were unusual in Wales at this point. Part of this building is now incorporated into St Woolos cathedral as the Galilee chapel now at the west end of the Cathedral.

Circa 1050 the church was attacked by pirates and left in ruins.

Circa 1080 the Normans built a new nave to the east of the Saxon ruins, and a lean-to south aisle, building a new entrance archway through the Saxon wall. Circa 1200 the Saxon church was repaired so the Norman entrance became an internal archway.

It was badly damaged in 1402 when Newport was attacked by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr and underwent a major rebuilding including the addition of the tower.

It also seems to have been damaged in the English Civil War period when a statue above the main entrance representing a benefactor of the church seems to have lost its head. It is either Jasper Tudor, the Earl of Pembroke, or Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham as both helped rebuild it after Glyndwr's attack.

The cathedral has been partially rebuilt or extended in every period up to the 1960s, and is currently undergoing much-needed repairs. An appeal fund was started in 2006 to raise the £1.5m needed to rescue and repair the building, and is still ongoing. Repairs to the roof started in February 2011 by Newport-based contractor Instaat Projects Ltd, although further fundraising is necessary and other restoration is required to prevent serious dilapidation.