St Woolos Cathedral

There would have been no Newport without St Woolos Cathedral. There would have been no cathedral without St Gwynllyw, a Saint with a reckless past.

The Welsh ruler was partial to raiding and pillaging before he took to building churches. The church was constructed here in the fifth or sixth century. After, a settlement expanded down Stow Hill and became Newport. The building is now known as Newport Cathedral.

This building was a grand shrine to a much-loved saint. It is thought the wooden church was rebuilt in stone in the ninth century when Welsh stone buildings were exceptional.

Gwynllyw was once the patron saint of choice for Welsh pirates and smugglers, including Sir Henry Morgan, a distant descendant of the Tredegars.