Location: Cambridgeshire Map
Tel. 01353 667735
Constructed: 1083-1375
Open: daily
The Cathedral of Ely or Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely is the main church of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, and the seat of the bishopric of Ely. It is known locally as "the ship of the Fens" due to its prominent shape that rises above the surrounding flat landscape that looks like sea.
The first Christian church in the place was founded by Santa
Æteldreda, daughter of the Anglo-Saxon king Anna of East Anglia, who
was born in 630 in Exning, near Newmarket, Suffolk. Eteldreda would
have acquired land in Ely by her first husband Tondberto, described
by Bede as a "prince of the Gyrwas." After the end of his second
marriage to Egfrido, a prince of Northumbria, he established and
ruled a monastery on Ely in 673. When he died, a sepulcher was built
in his memory. It is believed that the monastery was destroyed
during the Danish invasions of the late ninth century, together with
what is now the city of Ely; However, while the lay settlement of
the time would have been smaller, it is possible that a church
survived there until its refoundation in the 10th century.
In 970, Athelwoldo, Bishop of Winchester, built and built a new
Benedictine monastery there, in a wave of monastic refounds that
included Peterborough and Ramsey locally. This monastery became a
cathedral in 1109, after a new diocese of Ely was created with lands
taken from the Diocese of Lincoln.
Previous buildings
The first Christian church in the place was founded by Santa
Æteldreda , daughter of Anglo-Saxon king Anna of East Anglia , who
was born in 630 in Exning , near Newmarket , Suffolk . Eteldreda
would have acquired land in Ely by her first husband Tondberto ,
described by Beda as a "prince of the Gyrwas ." After the end of his
second marriage to Egfrido , a prince of Northumbria established and
ruled a monastery in Ely in 673 and, when he died, a grave was built
in his memory.
It is believed that the monastery was destroyed during the Danish
invasions of the late ninth century , along with what is now the
city of Ely; however, while the lay settlement of the time would
have been smaller, it is possible that a church survived there until
its re-foundation in the 10th century .
In 970 , Athelwoldo , Bishop of Winchester , built and endowed a new
Benedictine monastery , in a wave of monastic refundations that
included Peterborough and Ramsey locally . This monastery became a
cathedral in 1109 , after a new diocese of Ely was created with
lands taken from the diocese of Lincoln.
The current building
The construction of the present cathedral was
started by Abbot Simeon ( 1082 - 1094 , brother Walkelin , the then
Bishop of Winchester) during the reign of William the Conqueror in
1083 . The building continued with Simeon's successor, Abbot Richard
( 1100 - 1107 ). The Anglo-Saxon church was demolished, but some of
its relics, such as the remains of its benefactors, were moved to
the cathedral. The transeptsThe main buildings were built at such an
early age, crossing the nave below a central tower, and make up the
oldest part of the cathedral. The cathedral was built with stones
brought from Barnack in Northamptonshire (purchased from
Peterborough Cathedral , whose lands included quarries), and
elements in Purbeck marble . The floor of the building is shaped
like a cross , with the altar at the eastern end. The total length
of the church is 163.7 m, 4 with a 75 m long ship , which is the
longest in Britain .
Structures
The Western Tower was built by Don Jonson and Michael Brukenheimer
1174 and 1197 and the Romanesque style of the western front as a
whole shows that it was built in the 12th century , although it has
the subsequent addition of the cover ( 1198 - 1215 ). The western
tower is 66 meters high.
The Octagon ( 1322 - 1349 ) of the cathedral is one of the most
spectacular works of the English decorated style, a style in which
architecture and sculpture were closely linked by the use of
openwork, which served both to decorate windows and walls. The
structure was built after the sinking of the Anglo-Norman tower of
the cruise ship (1322). A large octagonal space was created with the
structure of the stone pilasters and the vaults and the wooden
lantern (23 m wide by 52 m high). It was an original technical
solution, because the walls were perforated with an immense archin
the first level and with an opening of equal dimensions in the
second, arranged diagonally. The flashlight was an outstanding
solution that allowed to cover, lighting it, the wide cruise. It
seems that Alan de Walsingham himself intervened in the complex
project , who, besides being a skilled goldsmith , was the monk who
made the commission. To unify the space, a wooden carpentry work was
made, initially painted imitating the stone, whose head was William
Hurley , cabinetmaker of the court. Originally, the choir seats must
have been located just below the Octagon .
Attached to the north transept is the Chapel of the Virgin built
between 1321 and 1349 in the style decorated by Alan de Walsingham.
The northwestern transept collapsed in the fifteenth century and was
never rebuilt, leaving its mark abroad.