ELY
Dedication: St. Ethelreda. Church of a Benedictine Monastery.
Special features: The Octagon; Galilee Porch; Lady-Chapel; Bishop Alcock’s Chapel; Bishop West’s Chapel; Monk’s Door.
Ely is perhaps the most singular and beautiful of English cathedrals, when seen from a distance; for the massive building, with its turrets, buttresses, and pinnacles, rises with splendid majesty from the green meads that make a perfect foreground.
“The first glimpse of Ely overwhelms us, not only by its stateliness and variety of its outline, but by its utter strangeness, its unlikeness to anything else. Ely, with its vast single western tower, with its central octagon unlike anything else in the whole world, has an outline altogether peculiar to itself.”—(E. A. F.)
About 655 Etheldreda, daughter of the King of East Anglia, went to live in the fen-land district, known as the Isle of Ely, that had come into her possession according to the terms of her marriage settlement with Tonbert, one of the noblemen of her father’s court. The civil government of her territory she gave to a steward named Ovin, while she devoted herself to good works. She was induced to marry Egfrid, son of Oswy, King of Northumberland, who became king in 670. Etheldreda, wearied of court life, became a nun; and when Egfrid determined to force her to return to court she fled from Coldingham to the Isle of Ely, where she established a religious house. She began to build in 673. The monastery over which Etheldreda presided as abbess was a mixed community. Bede calls it a nunnery. Etheldreda died in 679 and was buried, according to her own request, in the nuns’ graveyard. Her body was, however, removed into the church on October 17, 695. When the body was placed in a marble sarcophagus it was found in perfect preservation, and miracles took place. Two hundred years later the Danes ravaged Ely and destroyed the monastery (870), which was rebuilt in 970 by King Edgar and Bishop Ethelwold, of Winchester. The prior of Winchester, Brithnoth (970-981), was appointed its first abbot. There were no nuns in the new monastery.
The monks of Ely educated Edward the Confessor, who had been offered on this altar in infancy by his parents. After he became king he continued his “favourable regard to the place.” His brother, Alfred, whose eyes were put out by Earl Godwin, died and was buried in Ely. Ely was the last stronghold of Hereward; and it took the monks a long time to make their peace with the Conqueror. In order to raise enough money to purchase forgiveness they were forced to sell almost every article of gold and silver that they owned. Thurston, the last Saxon abbot (1066-1072), remained in charge of the monastery until his death. When Simeon, prior of Winchester, and brother of Walkelyn, Bishop of Winchester, was made abbot in 1081, it was deemed necessary to build a more sumptuous church. Simeon contributed a great part of his large fortune. He began with the transepts; and built the central tower, often called “Simeon’s Tower.”
Richard (1100-1107), a Norman, and relative of the king, finished the east end in 1106. Two bays of the nave next to the tower were also his work, and he continued Simeon’s Tower. During Richard’s rule the remains of St. Etheldreda, St. Sexburga, St. Ermenilda, and St. Withburga, the first four abbesses, were re-buried before the high altar.
In 1109 Ely was made a cathedral; but nothing seems to have been done to the building until Bishop Riddell (1174-1189) “carried on the new work and Tower at the west end of the church, almost to the top.”
Eustache (1198-1215), one of the bishops appointed to excommunicate King John, built the celebrated Galilee Porch at the west end. He contributed large sums out of his private fortune.