At Llandaff, now within Cardiff, the cathedral knew under the Tudors a brutal trajectory: an apogee under the patronage of the royal family, then a collapse under the Reformation, which made it the poorest bishopric in England and Wales. Its history is that of an age-old wealth dissipated in a generation.
The apogee under the Tudors
Around 1485, a tower of the cathedral's west front was added — reputed to have been financed by Jasper Tudor, uncle of Henry VII and one of the great architects of the dynasty's coming. The Tudors, of Welsh descent, readily supported the churches of Wales. Llandaff then prospered thanks to pilgrimages: the faithful flocked to the tomb of St Teilo, bringing offerings and revenues. The cathedral had accumulated, over the centuries, a rich treasure of gold and jewels.
The collapse of the Reformation
The Reformation (1529-1559) struck Llandaff full force. The abolition of pilgrimages made the shrine of St Teilo disappear and dried up the revenues that went with it; the lands were lost. In a few decades, Llandaff became the poorest bishopric in England and Wales. In 1558, a last act of this squandering, the canons shared out the gold and jewels amassed over centuries. One figure embodies these reversals: Bishop Anthony Kitchin, the only prelate to keep his see through the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I — at the price of alienations of land that finished ruining the bishopric. To see: the west tower said to be Jasper Tudor's, the medieval nave (restored after several ruins), the traces of the post-Reformation impoverishment.
Did you know?
Bishop Anthony Kitchin was the chameleon-man of the Welsh Reformation: he kept the see of Llandaff through four reigns and all the religious reversals of the sixteenth century — Catholic under Henry VIII and Mary, Protestant under Edward and Elizabeth — without ever falling. This flexibility allowed him to survive where others ended at the stake; but it had a price: to stay in place, he sold off the lands of his bishopric, helping to make it the poorest in the realm. To survive, sometimes, cost more than to resist.
Notes
Llandaff Cathedral lies at Llandaff, Cardiff (Glamorgan); a working cathedral, open to visits (restored after Second World War damage). Hours to check.
Quiz
- Who is said to have financed Llandaff's west tower (c. 1485)?
- Jasper Tudor, uncle of Henry VII
- The pope
- Owain Glyndŵr
- What did Llandaff become after the Reformation?
- The poorest bishopric in England and Wales
- The richest
- An abbey
- What is exceptional about Bishop Anthony Kitchin?
- He kept his see through 4 reigns and all the reversals
- He was burned alive
- He became pope