St Asaph Attractions

An excursion can be made to St Asaph (pop. 2,522; 6mi/10km south of Rhyl), a picturesque little town situated between the Rivers Elwy and Clwyd. The village church, only 180ft/55m long and 70ft/21m wide, has the distinction of being the smallest medieval cathedral in Britain. It was founded in 560 as a monastery church by St Mungo, who had been expelled from Glasgow, and was consecrated by his successor, the bishop St Asaph (d. about 596). Although the church was burned down by Owain Glyndwyr in 1402 and rebuilt in the 18th-19th century, it has largely preserved its Decorated style of 1284-1381. The massive crossing tower dates from 1715 (fine views from the top). There are various monuments commemorating William Morgan, who published the first complete translation of the Bible into Welsh in 1588, and William Salisbury, who was the first person to translate the New Testament into Welsh (1567). The crypt contains a collection of early Welsh translations of the Bible and prayer books, as well as the Greek-Hebrew-Welsh dictionary belonging to the brilliant self-taught scholar, Richard Robert Jones.