The Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist - Brecon, Powys, Wales - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

It is thought that the Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist may be the fourth church to be located on its site. The first was a wood Celtic church followed by a small stone Benedictine priory, founded in 1093 which in turn was followed by a Norman church. The tower of the Norman church fell damaging the rest of the church, which necessitated the construction of the current church beginning in 1215. The church was originally built as a Benedictine priory church. The construction started at the east end where Mass was celebrated at the altar and construction continued westwards, with interruptions from Welsh raids, until the nave was finished around 1300. The Gothic style of the church is more of a French style rather than the later English style of Perpendicular Gothic style. The exterior of the church is built of local gray and purple red sandstone from quarries in the Priory grounds. These quarries were reopened during later restoration work in the 19th century. The large church is remarkable for a small market town which is in part owed to royal patronage with the eastern portion mostly built during the reign of the pious King Henry II. With the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII the church became the parish church of St John the Evangelist, in the diocese of St David’s. With the formation of the Church of Wales as a separate entity from the Church of England the church became the Cathedral of the new diocese of Swansea and Brecon on September 14,1923.

The Cathedral is usually open for visitors daily 9:00am - 5:30pm

For a more expansive history and description of the Cathedral see this website.

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