St. John the Baptist Church

St John the Baptist Church stands in Cardiff city centre as the only medieval building apart from Cardiff Castle. Its grey limestone tower rises over forty metres in four stages, topped with openwork battlements and four gothic pinnacles. The west front faces Church Street, where the tower acts as a landmark visible from several streets. The church was built in 1180 as a chapel for St Mary’s, founded by Benedictine monks from Tewkesbury Abbey. After Owain Glyndŵr’s rebellion in 1404 it was rebuilt with a perpendicular tower and ten bells. In 1620 it became the main parish church after St Mary’s was lost to flood damage. Inside, the organ by Henry Willis dates from 1894 and was restored in 2005. Stained glass in the north chapel includes work by Morris & Co from 1855 and 1869, with designs by William Morris. The graveyard became St John’s Gardens after a public path was cut through in the 1890s, and the churchyard wall mixes original stone with Devonian sandstone coping.