Surveyors from The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales have discovered that the roof of Newport Cathedral is older than previously thought.
Using the scaffolding in place for the roof repairs, staff from the Commission have been able to calculate that the wood used in the roof of the Cathedral Nave was made from trees felled between 1402 -32. Making it potentially only a few years older than the oldest roof in the Kingdom - the roof of Westminster Hall.
Welcoming news of this new find the Dean , The Very Revd Jeremy Winston promised that an archeological investigation of the Cathedral site will get under way soon, which may bring some other interesting discoveries. He continued, ” It is exciting to think that one of the oldest roofs in the country is to be found in the heart
of the city of Newport “.
Thanks to the delicate and detailed restoration of the roof, much of the original timbers from the early 1400s have been retained.
Cathedral Architect, Michael Davies, said “Tree ring dating of ancient timbers is proving extremely valuable in
our conservation work, providing very detailed and accurate information that we often cannot obtain from documentary evidence alone. This highlights the significance of this building, which already displays some very fine architectural features from the Norman period. It’s another piece in the jigsaw, that helps us understand the many layers of history at the cathedral.”
David Morgan OBE DL the organiser of Knightsbridge comes to St Woolos , has been made an Hon Fellow of the University of Wales, Newport. He joins our Chapter Treasurer John Sexton