St Asaph Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of St Asaph has a long and troubled history. Founded by Scottish christian St Kentigern fleeing persecution in 550, on a sacred location above the River Elwy (Hence Llanelwy in Welsh). According to oral tradition once Kentigern returned to his native Scotland, his disciple Asaph took over. Both Kentigern and Asaph are immortalised in stained glass. The first true written record appears in 1140, Kentigern's life was detailed in a book by a monk at Furness Abbey in 1180. In the 12th century work began on the current cathedral including the collection and enshrining of relics of St Asaph from the local area. In 1282, the cathedral was set ablaze by in the crossfire between the warring Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Edward I, to be rebuilt in 1320 and then burnt down a second time during Owain Glyndwr's rebellion against the English. It took over 70 years to restore the cathedral to full working order. The first rebuilding was heavily influenced by the construction of Caernarfon Castle and it likely the masons involved worked on both. As such, the columns lack capitals and other of the typical Early Gothic decoration one would expect. The Reformation in 1536 saw the cathedral stripped of much of its finery and then the Civil War saw further desacration by Cromwell and his men. For example, the font was taken to the river and used as a trough for the cavalry. It was returned after the war, but only one side has been restored. The Cathedral is also home to an original copy of the William Morgan bible from 1588, the first instance of the entire bible being translated into Welsh. The cathedral is home to many fine articles of woodcarving and stone work, monuments and memorials. However, the South Transcept is also home to something far more macabre. Likened to "a body pulled from a mass grave in Bosnia", Michele Coxon's "Naked Christ" intends to dispel the sanitised view of the cruxifixion seen in many churches. The sculpture made of sheep bones, broken wood and barbed wire depicts the immense suffering of crucifixion.