Deanery and vestries

The building known today as the Deanery and vestries joins onto the Cathedral and extends southwards. It is divided into two sections by a central tower and has been in continuous use for nearly 700 years. In medieval times there was originally a large hall on the ground floor, probably used for the communal life of the monks and for entertaining important visitors. Upstairs there may have been accommodation for rich pilgrims visiting the monastery. The tower may have originally served as a gateway through the building.

After Henry VIII abolished all the monasteries in England and Wales in the 16th century, the monks had to leave. While the priory church continued as the parish church for Brecon, the domestic and residential buildings of the monastery were sold off to private owners with the profits going to the King. Several important county families lived in the separate complex beyond the Deanery over on the far right, which we now know as the Priory House. The Deanery building itself was much altered over the years, with the right-hand section becoming a private house, later called the Tower House, and with stables to the left serving the Priory House.

After the priory church was made a cathedral in 1923, the Tower House was purchased to serve the new requirements of a cathedral. It underwent major restoration, including the rebuilding of the fourth floor of the tower which had fallen into disrepair. For a while the building was known as the Canonry, after the canons who are some of the principal clergy of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon and who also serve the Cathedral. The section of the building to the left, with its stone exposed, is used as vestries, where clergy and choir can change and also where the cathedral choirs practice their singing. To the right of the tower is the limewashed residence of the Dean, who is the head of the cathedral.

After 400 years in private hands, the Deanery building was reunited with the cathedral and is now used to accommodate the clergy and choir who conduct regular services in the cathedral - just as the monks themselves did between 500 and 900 years ago.

There are 14 different stories on the trail. You can explore them in any order. Just point your phone camera at the QR code when you spot the Cathedral logo. You can download the trail map here.