Cathedral Church of St. Asaph

Cathedral Church of St. Asaph

This is a Decorated Gothic cathedral with a five-bay nave, two-bay transepts, a single-stage crossing tower with crenellated parapet, and a three-bay Victorian Early English square-ended choir. The building is constructed from variously textured grey, buff and red coursed rubble masonry, roughly dressed except to the choir, with mainly sandstone dressings and slate roofs.

The exterior features chamfered buttresses to the west end that are 13th-century survivals, gabled buttresses to the nave and chancel (some with colonettes to the latter), and angle buttresses to the transepts. A high moulded plinth runs around the building. The east window is a seven-light ogee reticulated tracery window inserted by Scott into a 14th-century aperture with hoodmould. Paired lancets with colonettes and dog tooth ornament appear in the eastern bays, while triple lancets occupy the western bay. A round-arched Norman door on the north side is recessed and formerly led to the Chapter House. Ogee reticulated three-light windows appear on the east side of the transepts, while five-light windows with oval reticulations occupy the transept gable ends. The tower features 18th-century Gothic three-light windows with transoms, a square stair turret, and a clock face to the north dated 1794. Geometrical two-light aisle windows date to 1830 (north) and 1844 (south); the northwest bay has no windows. Squared octofoil clerestory windows were re-opened by Scott. The main entrance to the north, probably mid-19th century in the fourth nave bay, replaced a Perpendicular doorway further east; a similar advanced entrance exists to the south. The west window is a curvilinear six-light subdivided triple lancet with mouchette tracery, set within a deeply recessed six-order continuous sunk chamfer moulded entrance with similar doors. Original two-light aisle windows survive at the west end. Two 19th-century freestanding table tombs stand at the west end.

The interior is largely coursed rubble with freestone dressings. The nave has a timber ceiling heavily ribbed to suggest a lierne vault, designed by G G Scott, with crenellated springers on original stone corbels. The arcades comprise two wave and sunk chamfer moulded orders, with the western bay being shorter; the crossing arches are similarly detailed with three orders to their inner sides, representing a fine example of early 14th-century work, and topped by a timber vaulted ceiling. The transepts were exposed by Oldrid Scott in 1929; the north transept houses the organ and Translators Chapel, while the south transept, formerly the Consistory Court, serves as the Lady Chapel. A course of stones laid on end at about impost level may suggest the original height of the Norman building. Thomas Jones' choir screen survives only on the south side.

The chancel retains exceptionally fine late 15th-century stalls, the only surviving canopied examples in Wales, possibly by William Frankelin. These feature tall, vaulted and crocketed canopies with pinnacles and carved foliage, elbow knobs and misericords. The traceried backs were replaced by G G Scott, who also added one stall diagonally at either end and the Bishop's Throne to the southeast end; colonettes to the front were inserted in 1906. Scott lined the choir with mainly red and beige ashlar and inserted a panelled wagon ceiling with rose bosses. Detached polished marble shafts appear to the eastern windows, while clustered shafts with some stiffleaf carving occupy the west bay.

A full-width reredos of 1871 by Earp of London features a central alabaster triptych. An iron chest near the west end, dated 1738 by Davies brothers, survives. The glass is mostly Victorian; that in the chancel, by Ward and Hughes, dates to 1864. Some glass in the south transept, formerly in the east window, dates to around 1800 by Francis Eginton.

The nave retains a large number of interesting monuments. To the north aisle is a Gothic alabaster First World War Memorial by Powell. The south aisle at the west end holds a freestanding monument to Dean Shipley by John Termouth, dated 1829. A broken pedimented monument to Sir John Hay Williams, signed in Greek by L Droses of Athens and dated 1873, stands nearby. Beside the south door is a marble monument to Sir John Williams (died 1830) and his wife Margaret (died 1875) by Sir Richard Westmacott, depicting full-height paired angels. Below this is a sepulchral slab dated around 1330. Further east is a medieval effigy, probably of Bishop Aian II who died 1293, with a cushion and low canopy to the head and a lion to its feet; the pedestal upon which it was placed in 1932 was part of a monument by Thomas Jones. Above is a Gothic monument to Bishop Carey. In the north transept is a classical monument to Richard Price Thelwall by Benjamin Bromfield, dated 1775.