Brecon Cathedral

Following the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066, an uneasy pact was maintained between the Welsh chieftains and the Norman invaders. This began to break down as Norman lords broke free of royal control and started to occupy territory on the Welsh border. One of these lords was Bernard of Neufmarche, whose activities in this area culminated in a battle near Brecon in 1093 in which the local Welsh chieftain was killed. Bernard built a castle at Brecon to control the area and gave an existing church near the castle described as ?the church of St John the Evangelist without the walls? to a monk of Battle abbey in Sussex called Roger. He and other monks of the Benedictine Order established a Priory on this site.

Related Topics:
Norman conquest - Brecon - Sussex

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Brecon Priory became a daughter house of Battle Abbey and, with the support of that house and the patronage of successive Lords of Brecon, grew and flourished for over 400 years from about 1100 to the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537. Virtually the whole of Brecon Cathedral today and the buildings around it date from this period. Some parts of the Cathedral survive from the beginning of the Norman period but the building was greatly expanded in the thirteenth century in the Early English style and altered and added to in the fourteenth century in the Decorated style. In the Late Middle Ages it became an important place of pilgrimage following the construction of a Golden Rood on the screen at the east end of the Nave. The number of monks was never large but the work of worship and teaching was maintained throughout its history. A number of books written at Brecon have survived and facsimile copies are on display.

Related Topics:
Brecon - Late Middle Ages

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The Priory was closed by order of the Crown in 1537 and the property passed into secular hands. The monastic buildings became the property of a local man, Sir John Price, and the church survived as a parish church for the town and also for the local craft guilds who maintained chapels inside the building. The eastern end of the priory and some of the chapels fell into ruin but the nave and tower continued in use. The building underwent major restoration in the 1860?s under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott.

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When the Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920 the Priory Church became the Cathedral Church of the new diocese of Swansea and Brecon in 1923. The church was further altered to serve as a Cathedral and the buildings in the close were returned for the use of the Dean and Chapter to serve as vestries and accommodation for the clergy. In recent years some of these buildings have been converted into a Diocesan Centre, Heritage Centre, exhibition, shop and restaurant.

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