Places to see: Ely Cathedral

Ely Cathedral

The Cathedral city of Ely is packed with monastic buildings steeped in medieval history and intrigue, no more so than the imposing Cathedral in its centre. Nicknamed "The Ship of the Fens", as it originally stood on an isolated island in the marshy fens, (until work started to drain them 400 years ago) and the West Tower and Lantern could be seen for miles.

In 673AD, St Etheldreda, an Anglo-Saxon Princess and Queen of Northumbria; built a church on this very site, and created a monastery for nuns and monks. She dedicated her life to religious service and following the death of her husband in 655AD, she took her dowry and moved to Ely, where she died in 680AD.

Ely's first church was destroyed by Danish invaders in 870AD, and the first Norman Bishop, Abbott Simeon organised for work to begin on the Cathedral in 1081AD - it took just over 100 years to complete the new Cathedral.

You can see on the colour-coded map below which parts were built in which centuries.

Once you enter the massive wooden doors, the long Norman Nave (meaning Ship) still has its curved Norman arches and remains of medieval decoration. It is the third longest cathedral in England and has one of then longest Naves in the country.

It has a rare hand painted wooden ceiling - installed during the Victorian restoration - which tells the story of the ancestry of Jesus (beginning with Adam on Panel 1, through Abraham and David to Mary with her baby). It was painted by 2 artists and if you look carefully you can see when the second artist took over at panel number six.

The Choir or Quire is still used for services, it is a beautiful part of the Cathedral. The ornately carved wooden choir stalls include 46 medieval misericords (hinged seats that tip up to provide support for the singers once standing). The colourful floor has intricate mosaic patterns complementing the bare stone pillars and walls. There has been a boys choir school here since the 10th century - a girls one only being created in 2006.

Following a dramatic collapse of the central tower in 1322, (due to unstable foundations) the Cathedral underwent restoration work, including the building of the Octagon Tower - at the end of the Nave. This newer part was built on deeper foundations, to take its weight (The lantern on top has an internal height of 142 feet) and has rightly earned its accolade as "One of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World"

You must keep looking up! The ceilings are a work of art in themselves. They were made from oak trees and the structures were positioned in such a way to allow slight movement - without the building collapsing as before. This part alone took 20 years to complete.

You can take a guided tour of the Octagon Tower, it is an extra £12; but if you are fit enough to climb the 170 steps - it is well worth it. The view from the first section is looking back into the Cathedral, where you can appreciate the stonework and stained glass below.

Once you have gone up the next flight of steps, you have a short walk outside - you are now above the Lady Chapel; and have to squeeze through a very small door to continue the tour.

The stairwell is really narrow now, and the steps are very small - but there is rope to hold on to! Once you reach the next doorway, you are right in the medieval rafters - the oaks that have supported this structure for over 700 years.

There are 32 doorways that open in a circle around the lantern, and both sides could not be more different. The side where we stood was pure, blank wood - but the side that faced inwards to the Cathedral was painted in the most beautiful way. Each panel was a different angel playing a music instrument.

Above the painted doorways, are colourful stained glass windows, and above that you can see a close-up of the fantastic vaulted ceiling.

There was a final stairwell to climb before reaching the roof of the Tower with its fabulous 360 degree views over the countryside.

The 200 tons of English Oak that make the Lantern are covered with 200 tons of lead. Just imagine the weight that the tower below is supporting.

Everyone took their time coming down and it wasn't as bad as I expected - but it had been worth every one of those 170 steps. I can highly recommend it.

The rest of Ely Cathedral is still as enjoyable to explore, not many places contain so many articles remaining from the Norman times - around 1100AD.

There are many very old tombs and the Early English Gothic Presbytery (below) built to house the shrine of St Etheldreda, which attracted pilgrims from near and far - who thought her remains held miraculous healing powers. Unfortunately the tomb was destroyed in the Reformation - when Henry VIII closed and destroyed monasteries, shrines, statues and religious stained glass windows.

The Etheldreda Panels below are copies of the originals; painted in oil directly onto oak, they show the life of St Etheldreda (and are attributed to Robert Pygot of Bury St Edmunds who lived in the mid 15th century). The panels were discovered in 1792, when they were being used as cupboard doors in a cottage in Ely - apparently they were removed from the Cathedral for safe keeping during the Reformation. The originals are kept in London at the Society of Antiquaries.

Some more information on Etheldreda.......

Along the aisles, you will notice flagstones and tombs of well known people associated with the Cathedral.

This is St Ovin's stone, it is the oldest memorial in the Cathedral originally thought to date from about 8th century when it was probably a cross. It was found in 1770 in a nearby village where it was being used as a post for tying animals to.

In 1349 the stunning Lady Chapel was completed, and would have originally have been very colourful with stained glass windows and painted statues in the niches. But sadly this was all destroyed in the 16th century revolution of the Puritans, who rejected all forms of religious decoration.

The ceiling can be admired through a mirror - just like the paintings on the Nave ceiling.

All of the statues remain damaged - with their heads having been removed and destroyed.

The Cathedral has the only UK museum dedicated to stained glass - this section costs a little extra to go into. But there are plenty of fabulous stained glass windows to be admired all around the Cathedral anyway. The museum can be found within the Cathedral building up these steps.

The Cathedral's Millennium project to make a link between the 14th century Lady Chapel and the

Cathedral, provided and opportunity to design this glazed window in the original cloister frame. The

idea was to create a design that was not datable but sympathetic to the history of the Cathedral.

Seeing what has been designed - one could think this was original medieval stained glass.

Next to the entrance to the Stained glass museum is the colourful St Catherine's Chapel which is available for prayer and reflection.

As you leave, make sure you look up at more painted ceilings and at the huge contemporary Cross which was designed to mark the new millenium. It is 11 metres tall and has a theological symbol. "Like the journey of faith, its path is irregular and unpredictable; and just as the journey is sometimes hard, sometimes joyful, the surface texture and colour also vary".

I thoroughly enjoyed my time visiting Ely Cathedral, make sure you allow plenty of time - I was there for 4 hours. There is a cafe in the grounds selling a good variety of refreshments. And depending when you go, you may be lucky enough to see the resident Peregrine falcons that nest high up in the West Tower.