Brecon Cathedral

General information

Brecon Cathedral was, until the establishment of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in 1923, the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist. A Norman Benedictine Priory was founded on the site in 1093 and this became the Parish Church in the 16th century at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries. Because of the nature and type of its location it is thought that the Norman Priory may have been built on the site of an older Celtic church.

The Cathedral is at the geographical centre of a Diocese which is some 120 miles in length, stretching from Beguildy in the North to the Gower Peninsula in the South. The northern part of the Diocese is predominantly rural with a number of attractive market towns, Brecon itself among them. It includes most of the Brecon Beacons National Park and a rich variety of stunning landscapes. The southern part is a greater mix of urban and rural and includes the City and County of Swansea as well as the Gower Peninsula, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Diocese and seeks to offer a ministry of worship and welcome for all who visit. Although it is a building of relatively modest proportions, the Cathedral is set in a walled close, unique in Wales, and is regarded as one of its finest buildings. The buildings in the Cathedral Close are the remains of the former monastic buildings and today provide the administrative centre for the Diocese as well as housing for the Cathedral clergy and a Heritage Centre and Restaurant. They are a remarkable collection of buildings said to be the finest collection of its kind in Wales.