New AV facility enhances North Wales cathedral’s appeal

The Cathedral Church of Saints Asaph and Cyndeyrn, commonly known as St Asaph Cathedral (Welsh: Eglwys Gadeiriol Llanelwy), is a cathedral in St Asaph, North Wales. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of St Asaph. The cathedral is part of the Church in Wales and part of the Anglican Communion of Wales.

According to legend, a church and monastery were founded in St Asaph in the 6th century by St Kentigern, bishop of Strathclyde. His successor as abbot-bishop was Asaph, a local saint whose name is found in neighbouring places including Llanasa.

The cathedral was founded in 1143 by the Normans, who had established themselves in nearby Rhuddlan. Gerald of Wales and Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, visited in 1188 during their tour of Wales to recruit for the third crusade. Baldwin celebrated mass at the cathedral before departing for the priory at Basingwerk, Holywell. Gerald’s journal describes St Asaph as a small cathedral town.

There was extensive rebuilding from 1284 to 1392, using large quantities of yellowish sandstone from Flint, or Talacre. Purple sandstone, quarried locally, was also used. Aspects of the design were influenced by military works then being undertaken at Caernarfon Castle.

The cathedral was damaged many times, including in the 13th century and by Owain Glyndŵr’s uprising in 1402. Restoration in the 15th century included the provision of canopied stalls, or enclosed seats: the only surviving examples in Wales. The Civil War wreaked further damage, and the tower’s upper part was blown over in 1714. Sir George Gilbert Scott masterminded the building’s restoration from 1867 to 1875.

Live streaming of the services at the cathedral has been in place for a number of years and was significantly improved when an audio link from a new sound system was incorporated into the design. The new sound system has been internationally recognised: as can be seen at https://pro.harman.com/case_studies/britain-s-smallest-cathedral-uk.

To further improve the live streaming service an Angekis PTZ camera has now been included in the system. That followed a camera demonstration, as part of a consultation with Richard King Systems, supported by Tukans – the UK distributer of Angekis cameras – to evaluate the potential improvements and establish the optimum positioning. Discreet positioning above the west door porch ensures that the visual impact is minimal, while at the same time the streaming viewer’s experience is now significantly enhanced with the additional variety of images provided.

In addition to the streaming system improvements, Richard King Systems have designed, installed and commissioned a multi-large screen TV system at the cathedral. It includes five large screens on moveable stands with wireless signal connection. Being wireless the screens can be positioned at numerous locations throughout the cathedral to provide the best possible view for the many differing services and events held.

Another benefit of the new system is the ability to display up-to-date information for visitors to this historical religious destination.

The new TV screen system also assists the cathedral in reducing the environmental impact of producing printed material for services and events.

Discreet and high-quality installation, together with specialist commissioning of the systems by the engineers from Richard King Systems, provides for high audio-visual quality and reliable performance.

With their depth of experience in the design, installation commissioning and maintenance of sound and audio-visual systems in challenging environments, this latest project at St Asaph Cathedral is now part of Richard King Systems’ substantial portfolio. Project manager Jacob Hughes has summarised it thus: “We are proud to have continued our successful collaboration with the St Asaph Cathedral to harness the power of today’s technology.”

• For further information visit richardkingsystems.co.uk.