Newport Cathedral

Legend has it that Gwynllyw (Woolos is an English corruption of his name) founded the Cathedral in c500, having been told in a dream to search for a white ox with a black spot on its forehead and to build a Church there, as an act of penitance. The mud and wattle structure subsequently erected became his grave, the foundation for a succession of churches built on the site at the top of Stow Hill. The extant Galillee Chapel (now called St Mary’s Chapel) still bears evidence of its early Celtic foundation, although the main construction is Norman.   
In 1093, William Rufus granted the church to the monastery of St Peter, Gloucester, and thus for four centuries it remained under monastic governance, and its ministers subject to the Rule of Benedict.  

In 1540, during the period of the Dissolution of the Monastries when Henry VIII broke with the authority of Rome, the church was handed to the newly created Bishopric of Gloucester, under whose control it remained until 1882. The building underwent a huge restoration programme from 1853, which continued for many years.

It is assumed that the main construction of the nave of the current building, as well as the magnificent Norman Arch, was designed and financed by the Abbot of Gloucester and his community. In 1540, during the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries when Henry VIII broke with the authority of Rome, the church was handed to the newly created Bishopric of Gloucester, under whose control it remained until 1882.