Media Resources
Press Contacts:
Father Mark Soady
Approved Quotes about the Newport Cathedral Emergency Campaign
- “The Cathedral (St Woolos) is the most significant building in Newport”
- “We are very honoured to have the Duke of Gloucester as our Royal Patron. His training as an architect and his links with Monmouthshire make him an excellent Royal Patron.”
- John Child, Chairman of Newport Cathedral Emergency Campaign: “There is a great need to rescue Newport Cathedral from serious dilapidation and I am delighted to be able to play our part in raising the necessary funds to make this happen”.
- Cathedral’s well-known architect, Michael Davies: “The roof is approaching a critical state and work should begin on repairing it as soon as possible. The cost of repairs is expected to be in excess of £1.5m.”
History & Background
- A church was founded on this site in the Fifth Century by the local chieftain Gwynllyw. His name has been anglicised to Woolos.
- Parts of the present structure are pre-Medieval
- In the last century the Church became the Cathedral of the newly formed Diocese of Monmouth
- Following its elevation to a Cathedral in 1949, a new East end was built in the 1960s
The Emergency Campaign
The major problem facing the Cathedral authorities is the very poor state of the Cathedral roof. The Cathedral authorities have been aware of the problem for some time and over the years some repairs have been made. However because of a lack of funds these repairs could only be remedial. The condition of the roof has continued to deteriorate and has now reached the point where the whole roof must be totally replaced and restored if the Cathedral is to function normally in future.
Our aim is to raise £1,500,000 as soon as possible for the work to be commissioned and started in October/November 2009. The whole project will take about a year to complete.
Approved Photos and Images
A downloadable zip of images for use is available here… (2.4MB)