Newport Cathedral - St Woolos is a building of considerable antiquity, having been a site of worship since the early 6th century. According to legend, the soldier-prince Gwynllyw was converted to Christianity when he was told in a dream to search for a white ox with a black spot on its forehead and, when he found it, to build a church as an act of penitence.
Gwynllyw’s church, founded on Stow Hill, was almost certainly made of mud and wattle, and has therefore been lost. The essentials of the modern church date back to the Norman period, including the arched entrance and naveconstructed 1140-1160. The present church consists of a 12th century Norman church enclosed within a later mediaeval structure, drastically restored in Victorian times and with a recent east end extension.
In 1921 the diocese of Monmouth was created and the church was designated a cathedral, which necessitated the enlargement of the east end in 1960.
Parking nearby and disabled access
Newport Cathedral - St Woolos: Woolos, King and Confessor
Stow Hill
Newport
NP20 4EA
Tel: 01633 212077