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High St, St. Asaph, Clwyd LL17 0RD
Tel: 01745 583429
IT must be the echoing sense of history in houses of worship that has even the agnostic and the out and out atheist gawping in hushed awe as they traipse around the aisles.
I've witnessed it in St Basil's cathedral in Moscow, the Old Synagogue in Prague, and the Great Mosque in Kairouan, not to mention our own holiest Christian shrine: the magnificent St David's Cathedral.
And while St Asaph cathedral might be the smallest of Wales' mother churches, it boasts a history to match the most illustrious.
Comedian Dave Allen once joked he was "an atheist, thank God". Even he'd find it hard not to be touched by the atmosphere.
Surrounded by an immaculately tended graveyard, here you'll find Wales' only memorial to the medieval clergymen who worked on translating the Bible into Welsh.
The present building is based on the 14th century shell of what emerged at the end of a tempestuous couple of centuries. It was repaired in the late 15th century, work embellished and thoroughly re-modelled by renowned Gothic architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott from 1867 onwards.
Small groups are being led around in muted admiration of the architectural beauty around them as I step inside. The cathedral boasts a host of striking medieval features.
The unusual pillars and arches of the nave were created by masons diverted from the building of Caernarfon Castle in the 13th century, while the 15th century canons' stalls by the high altar are elaborately decorated and carved.
Look out too for the tomb of Bishop Anian, the man responsible for kick-starting the cathedral's rebuilding in 1284, atop of which lies his effigy carved in stone.
In the Translators' Chapel you'll learn of the early attempts to produce an adaptation of the Bible into Welsh. It holds many fascinating exhibits, not least a rare first edition of the 1588 Bible, the first complete translation into Welsh undertaken by William Morgan, then Bishop of St Asaph.
The first church here was established by St Kentigern in 560AD, and the parish church down the hill from the cathedral is dedicated to him and his disciple St Asaph (open weekdays by appointment - call the Deanery on 01745 583597).
Built in 1524, it features double naves separated by pillars, under a fine hammer-beam roof decorated with angels in the southern aisle. By the altar lies a rare 14th century double sink for the washing of sacred drinking cups.
Even without getting inside, the graveyard of ancient stone memorials laid out higgledy-piggledy offers a fascinating insight into local history.
Look out in particular for the resting place of traveller and self-taught polyglot Richard Robert Jones, better known as Dic Aberdaron, who died in 1843, and was inspiration for a poem by RS Thomas, once vicar of Aberdaron.
An extraordinary linguist and lexicographer, Dic was fluent in Welsh, English, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, French, Spanish and Italian, and had a smattering of Arabic. His lifetime's masterpiece was his Welsh-Greek-Hebrew dictionary, also kept at the cathedral.
Pop into the Farm Shop Sandwich Bar on the high street, in between church and cathedral, for a cuppa or a bite to eat as you digest the huge volume of history you've spent your time amidst. They sell sandwiches, all day breakfast, paninis and toasties.
