We have seen how a monastery was established in 660, by Eata, which later came under the patronage of St. Wilfrid. From the ruins of St. Wilfrid's Abbey the present cathedral was founded about 680 A.D., in the reign of Egfrid. With the exception of St. Wilfrid's crypt, called St. Wilfrid's Needle, which tradition says was used for the trial of female chastity, nothing of the original Saxon fabric remains. From the similarity of this crypt, and of another at Hexham, both erected by St. Wilfrid, in formation and arrangement to the catacomb chapels at Rome, it is inferred that this churchman had made himself familiar with their peculiarities during his residence in that Latin city. This is interesting to note.
The Cathedral, as it now stands, embraces various styles of architecture, and is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Wilfrid. It is a large cruciform church, with a square central tower and two western towers. They at one time carried spires, each not less than one hundred and twenty feet in height; but the central spire having been blown down in 1660, caused considerable damage to the roof, and it was thought advisable to pull down the others. Their removal accounts for the stunted appearance of these square towers. The construction of the present church was commenced by Archbishop Roger, dating from 1154 to 1181. To this period belong the transepts and portions of the choir. The western front and towers were carried out in the Early English style, most probably by Archbishop Gray, between 1215 and 1255, and near the close of the century the eastern portion of the choir was rebuilt in the Decorated style. The nave and part of the central tower were also rebuilt in the Perpendicular style at the close of the fifteenth century. The fabric was entirely renovated under the guidance of Sir Gilbert Scott, from 1862 to 1876. The episcopal palace is a modern building in the Tudor style, and is about one mile from the town.
The present bishopric dates only from the year 1836. There are several charitable institutions: namely, the Hospital of St. John the Baptist, founded by an archbishop of York in 1109; the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene, for women, by another prelate of York in 1341; and the Hospital of St. Anne, by some unknown benefactor who lived in the reign of Edward IV. A clock-tower was presented to the town to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. There is now, in place of the ancient industries, an extensive trade in varnish, in addition to the manufactories for saddle-trees and leather, but the most interesting industry is that of the Ripon lace. It is a torchon lace much resembling, in uniformity of pattern, the design used in peasant laces in Sweden, Germany, and Russia.
Ely.
("Doomsday Book.")
N the early history of the majority, if not of all of these cathedrals, it is interesting to note the many points of resemblance. It will be observed that most of them had their inception in the seventh century. A most convenient way also of remembering, if actual dates be forgotten, is that the commencement of the same century heralded the arrival of St. Augustine and his forty monks at Canterbury, and the re-establishment of Christianity in England. Whatever previous efforts had been attempted to christianise the natives (prior to this century) pale into insignificance after the landing of this great missionary from Rome. The subsequent important events are invariably five; namely, the devastations of the Danes in the ninth century, the erections of castles to overawe the inhabitants with the ecclesiastical foundations, still extant, after the dreaded millennium had passed, from the Conquest; the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.; the desecration and mutilation of the churches under Cromwell's Protectorate; and the inevitable restoration, not always happy, of these grand buildings.
The Venerable Bede, in his "Ecclesiastical History," ingeniously attributes the derivation of the name to an eel, called "Elge," on the assumption of the great abundance of this fish in the neighbourhood. At the same time another rendering, by some one else, supposes that the Saxon "Helyg," a willow, which flourished extensively, owing to the marshy nature of the soil round about the city, gave rise to the present contraction. However it may be, Ely dates from the year 673. The subsequent history of the Church and state of this famous place originated in that year from the small foundation of a monastery for monks and nuns by Ethelreda. This princess was the daughter of the King of the East Angles, and the wife of Egfred, the King of Northumberland. She had devoted a great deal of her life to monasticism, and eventually constituted herself as the first abbess of her religious effort. A contradictory account gives it that this lady more likely became the first abbess of a religious house which she had filled with virgins. Their number is not stated. Nothing more is heard or worth relating of the welfare of this royal benefice until the ninth century, when, in the natural order of things, it was destroyed by the Danes. In 879, a matter of nine years after this devastation, it was partially restored by those brethren who had fortunately escaped the massacre. Under the government of provosts they were established and existed as secular priests for nearly a century. At the end of this period of inactivity it received much attention from Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester. This prelate in 970 purchased the whole of the Isle of Ely from Edgar. He then rebuilt the monastery and endowed it munificently. In it regular monks were placed under the rule of an abbot, to whom Edgar granted the secular jurisdiction of two hundreds within and five hundreds without the Fens. Many other important privileges were bestowed by the same monarch, recognised by Canute, and greatly increased by Edward the Confessor in recognition of part of his education here received. These many marks of royal favour caused it to become the richest in England, and the city participated in its prosperity.