Llandaff Cathedral

The Cathedral lies in the ancient City of Llandaff, dating from around 1120 it stands on one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain.

Llandaff Cathedral History

There has been a Christian presence on this site from the time of Saint Teilo in the sixth century, and this is shown by the early Christian pillar-cross in the south aisle, and grave markers reset into the fabric. The present building dates from the Norman period, around 1120 under Urban, a bishop from 1107 to 1134, a Welshman, and was extended in the early thirteenth century, with further additions and modifications in the later Middle Ages.

The Cathedral has undergone three major upheavals and restorations. When the nave was roofless in the eighteenth century, the architect, John Wood of Bath, built a ‘temple’ style church in the choir and part of the nave. Wood’s building was swept away in the Victorian restoration, which commenced in the 1840s, under John Prichard and John Pollard Seddon, culminating with the southwest tower in 1867-69.

A great deal of the 19th-century work inside the Cathedral perished when the building was heavily damaged and the roof destroyed in the 1939-45 War. Its restoration was entrusted to George Pace, who aimed to blend new work with what remained of the old and give the Cathedral a sense of spaciousness previously lacking. The High Altar was lowered, and the triptych of the Seed of David by D G Rossetti, which stood behind it, was moved to a new position in the St Illtyd Chapel at the foot of the North-West tower. Pace built the Welch Regiment Memorial Chapel, but his greatest achievement is the reinforced concrete arch surmounted by Sir Jacob Epstein’s aluminium statue of Christ in Majesty, which stands between the Nave and the Choir and “breaks”, without interrupting the view of the whole building from the top of the steps inside the West door to Geoffrey Webb’s Jesse window at the East end of the Lady Chapel.

Llandaff Cathedral Opening Times

The Cathedral is open to visitors daily from 9.00am, except Sundays when it opens at 7.00am, and closes following the last service of the day. There is usually a Welcomer in the Cathedral from 10am to 4pm to greet visitors, and information sheets, including a self-guided walk for visitors to explore the Cathedral at their leisure, are provided. Guidebooks giving greater detail about the history, architecture and art of the Cathedral can be purchased in the Cathedral Shop.