| Brecon Cathedral |
PRIORY CHURCH
Built on the site of 'the church of St John the Evangelist without the walls' the first permanent stone structure was endowed by Bernard de Neufmarche, patron of William the Conqueror's Abbey at Battle in Sussex. He enabled his confessor, a monk named Roger, and a colleague Walter to found a Benedictine Priory and they were the first monks to resided in the Priory where the daily offices would be sung, alongside the regular offerings of work, prayer and charitable care of the local population.
PARISH CHURCH
The Reformation brought with it great changes and in 1537 the Priory and four monks with their fifteen servants were dismissed when the Priory buildings were taken over by John Price, the King's inspector of monasteries in Wales. The Church however survived as a parish church under the management of a vicar and church wardens and, no doubt,
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the of the parishioners was enhanced by local musicians and singers during the centuries until robed choirs and trained organists became a feature of the larger Anglican parishes during the nineteenth century.
CATHEDRAL CHURCH
Thus it remained until 1923 when it became the Cathedral Church of the new diocese of Swansea and Brecon. Much re-ordering of the building has taken place since then, not least the reconstruction of the choir and canons' stalls at the crossing under the tower as well as the fine reredos, built in 1937 as a memorial to the first bishop, Edward Latham Bevan and the refurbishment of the side chapels.
During the last decade of the twentieth century, there was a serious need for an e4xtensive restoration which was addressed by a successful Appeal under the patronage of the Prince of Wales. The building has now been secured for future generations and it is now necessary to do the same for the Cathedral Choir whose musical tradition does so much to enrich the quality of the life and worship of the Cathedral, following the same spirit and traditions which motivated our founding monks.