Bishton or Bishopston ( cy, Llangadwaladr Trefesgob or simply ''Trefesgob'') is a small rural

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

in the east of the city of Newport, South

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It lies in the

Llanwern Llanwern is a community in the eastern part of the City of Newport, South East Wales. Llanwern is bounded by the M4 and Langstone to the north, Ringland, Lliswerry and the River Usk to the west, the River Severn to the south and the city bo ...

electoral district (ward) and contains the eastern end of

Llanwern steelworks Llanwern steelworks is located in Llanwern, east of the City of Newport, South Wales. History Built for Richard Thomas & Baldwins Ltd, the works was originally referred to locally as "The RTB", before being called Spencer Works and later Ll ...

, the

Underwood Underwood may refer to: People *Underwood (surname), people with the surname Places United States * Underwood, Shelby County, Alabama * Underwood, Indiana * Underwood, Iowa * Underwood, Minnesota * Underwood, New York * Underwood, North Dakota * ...

estate as well as Bishton itself. The population in the 2001 census was 2,181; dropping to 2,137 in 2011. The name is said to derive from "Bishop's Town", as the village has been alleged to be the sometime home of the

Bishops of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of ...

. Owain Glyndŵr destroyed the palaces at Bishton and Llandaff, from which time the episcopal palace was moved to

Mathern Mathern ( cy, Matharn; older form: ''Merthyr Tewdrig'') is a historic community (parish) and village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, about south west of the town of Chepstow, close to the Severn estuary, the Bristol Channel and the M48 mot ...

. Bishop John Pascall died here of the plague in 1361.

Government

The area is governed by the

Newport City Council Newport City Council () is the governing body for Newport, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It consists of 51 councillors, who represent the city's 20 wards. The council is currently, and has historically been, held by the Labour Party. ...

and the Bishton

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. In ...

St Cadwaladr's church

Bishton church is the only church is the country dedicated to

Cadwaladr Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 682 AD. Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682; he himself was a victim of t ...

, although it is possible that

St Mary's Church, Magor The Church of St Mary stands in the centre of the village of Magor, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was designated a Grade I listed building in 1963. The church is the lead church of the Magor Rectorial Benefice, led by Rev. Jeremy Harris, and administe ...

also was originally dedicated to him. Cadwaladr was the last Welsh ruler to call himself

King of Britain The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

and he earned the title "blessed" for his peaceful disposition. He died of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

in 664 AD. The original style of the church was decorated and

perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

, but in 1760 this was damaged when part of the tower collapsed into the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. A large amount of building and restoration was required. The north porch was added in the 19th century. Some of the lancet windows are original, but the east window, the west tower window and the two south windows to the nave were installed in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. The origins of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

arch are unclear and it seems to have been reconstructed from earlier stonework, incorporating four medieval corbel heads: a monk, a nun, a man and a woman. The font is late medieval. The east stained glass window depicts Christ as the Light of the World and as the

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd ( el, ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 ...

and dates from about 1915. The

stoup A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or religious representation. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Churches ...

is located near the north door. The church was designated as a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1963. Use of the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

in services continued at the church until 1828. Sunday Worship is held at 11.00 am, on the 1st and 3rd Sundays and the Local Pastoral Contact is Rev Hilary Prest. The church is subject to a gateway grant from the

National Churches Trust The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK". It carries out th ...

. In 2020 the need for restoration work primarily to the Tower, was highlighted. A project will develop repair proposals and will include an ecology survey.

References

External links

Bishton, St. Cadwaladers Church, Monumental InscriptionsPhotos of Bishton and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
{{authority control Communities in Newport, Wales Villages in Newport, Wales