Description
Ely, a city and the see of a bishop, in the county of Cambridge, situated on an eminence near the western bank of the Ouse, which is navigable for barges from Lynn, at the mouth of the river. It is 15 miles N by E from Cambridge, 13 N by W from Newmarket, and 72 N by E from London by railway. It has a station on the G.E.R., and through this line and its connections it enjoys ample means of communication with all parts of the kingdom, and has a head post office. It is the head of a union, county court district, and petty sessional division, and is the capital of the ISLE OF ELY. It is governed by a local board of 15 members, and is well drained and supplied with water. It owes its drainage and water supply very largely to the zeal and energy of the late Dr Peacock, who was dean when the improvements were carried out, and since they were effected the public health of the city has been greatly improved.

History.?A church or monastery is said to have been founded by King Ethelbert, at Cratendon Field, about a mile from the site of the present city, soon after the introduction of Christianity to East Anglia. That establishment, however, is matter of mere tradition; and may be pronounced doubtful. A church, with monastery and nunnery, was founded on the site of the city, about the year 673, by Etheldreda, daughter of King Anna, and went first to Tonbert, prince of East Anglia, and afterwards to Egfrid, king of Northumbria; and this must be regarded as the germ and nucleus of the city. The site was then encompassed by watery willowy marshes, and formed one of the secluded and inaccessible retreats which the Saxons commonly chose for security when the open parts of the country were overrun by bandits or armies. The name of the place originally was Suth Gureva, and this was superseded by either Helyg, signifying "willows" or Ael, signifying "an eel"?the former alluding to the circumjacent willowy tract, the latter alluding to great abundance of eels in the surrounding waters, and either of them readily passing, in course of time, into the present name Ely. Etheldreda's establishment seems to have flourished nearly 200 years; but about 870 it was destroyed by the Danes, and all its inmates and dependants either slain or dispersed. Beorhed, king of Mercia, drove away the Danes, and annexed the revenues of the monastery and the jurisdiction of the Isle of Ely to his crown. A small number of the dispersed inmates soon afterwards returned, repaired some parts of the buildings, and constituted them into a sort of collegiate church which flourished for about 100 years. King Edgar, in 970, restored to Bishop Ethel-wold the revenues and jurisdiction which Beorhed had taken away, and Ethelwold then made the ecclesiastical establishment of Ely an abbey, re-edified its buildings, and gave it an. ample endowment. Brithnot, the first abbot, called a meeting of the chief inhabitants of the isle and the adjoining tracts, and adjusted with them the boundaries of property; and then a deep ditch, called the Abbot's Delf, was made through the fens to serve as the march line. The abbey continued to flourish till the Conquest, received increase of possessions, and got from Canute and from Edward the Confessor confirmation of its rights. An old ballad says :? " Merrily sung the monks within Ely, When Canute the king rowed thereby: Row me, knights, the shore along, And listen we to these monks' song.' "

Thurston, the abbot at the time of the Norman invasion,. fearing that all his possessions might be seized, and thinking that the isle was strong enough to resist the Normans, resolved to stand on the defensive; and he received as allies within his borders Hereward, son of Leofric, Lord of Brunne; Edwin, Earl of Chester; Morcar, Earl of Northumberland, and other noblemen, who took refuge with him from their own territories. Hereward was elected general, and he made such dispositions and exertions as defeated a vigorous siege of the isle by William in the summer of 1069. William, renewed the siege from a new point in the spring of 1070, and was again defeated. He then, in great anger, retired to Cambridge, alienated there all the estates of the abbey situated outside of the island, and adopted such other measures of policy as struck fear into the minds of the monks. The abbot followed him to Warwick, implored his pardon, gave him secret information as to the best means of reducing the isle, went stealthily back to act in his favour, and so far counterworked the efforts of his own quondam allies that another siege of the Normans was successful. William, on getting possession of the isle, seized the abbey, but pardoned the monks, and in 1075 he restored to the abbey all its possessions and privileges. A magnificent new church was founded in 1081, and became a cathedral, the seat of a new diocese, in 1107. Hervey, bishop of Bangor, was made the first bishop of Ely, and he procured many privileges and gifts for the see, and also the grant of an annual fair of seven days, to commence on the anniversary of the death of Etheldreda. This fair afterwards took the name of St Audrey? a corruption of St Etheldreda?and was noted for the sale of plain showy laces to poor persons, and thence gave rise to the opprobrious epithet " tawdry." Nigellus, the successor of Hervey, took part with the Empress Maud against Stephen, erected two castles at Ely and Aldrey, was overcome by Stephen, and deprived of all his property, received succours from the empress, and re-acquired possession of the isle and his bishopric. The revenues of the abbey, at the time of the erection of the see, amounted to £1400, and about two-thirds of them were then alienated to the bishopric. The abbey, with diminished income, continued to be a distinct establishment, and from 1413 till the dissolution was considered as a mitred one. It belonged to the Benedictine order, and usually had between 30 and 40 monks. Its income, at the dissolution, is stated variously at £1084 and £1301, and the income of the bishopric then was £2135.

Streets and Buildings.?The town comprises a central spacious market-place, one long principal street, and several smaller streets running in various directions, contains many good stone houses, and has undergone great recent improvement, yet includes some houses of very ancient appearance, and presents, in a considerable degree, an antiquated aspect. The chief public edifices in it are the cathedral, the other places of worship, the public schools, the Theological College, founded in 1876, the shire hall, the corn exchange, the cattle market, and the workhouse. The best view of the town is from Stuntney Hill, but a view from the roof of King's College chapel, Cambridge, though so far distant, reveals the cathedral looming like a hill in a plain, and kindles an expectation in the breast of a stranger that the town will disclose to him features of high interest.

The Cathedral.?This vast edifice, which is the longest Gothic cathedral in Europe, with the exception of Winchester, dominates the whole of the fen country from its imposing position on a height. Its interior also is grand and impressive, while its architecture displays fine specimens of almost every style of work, from Early Norman to Late Perpendicular, all blended into a harmonious whole. The dates of nearly all the work is precisely known, so that the building is of immense value in estimating the dates of other Gothic structures in England. The pile comprises the Galilee porch, W tower and W transept, central octagon, nave, choir, presbytery, main transept, and lady chapel. The Galilee is 44 1/2 feet long; the western tower is 48 feet long and 266 high; the octagon is 65 feet wide; the nave is 250 feet long, 78 wide, and 76 high; the choir is 64 feet long, 78 wide, and 70 high; the presbytery is 95 feet long; the main transept is 179 1/2 feet long and 74 1/2 wide; the lady chapel is 95 feet long, 46 wide, and 60 high; the entire edifice is 517 feet long. The Galilee was erected about 1215, is Early English, in two storeys, and, though intrinsically beautiful, is incongruous. The western tower was built in 1184-90, received additions of lantern and angular turrets in 1382, and is a feature possessed by no other English cathedrals except those of Bangor and Manchester. The western transept was built in 1170, wants the northern portion, which has either fallen or been demolished, contains some of the earliest specimens of the Pointed arch in England, and forms a magnificent vestibule. The octagon was founded in 1322, and finished in 1380, occupies the place of the central tower, which fell in 1321, forms a rare feature, exemplified in only three other instances?Peterborough, Evreux, and Batalha? is of one storey, surmounted by a wooden lead-cased lantern of two storeys and 30 feet in diameter, and this lantern was reconstructed in 1862 on a new design at a cost of upwards of £6600 as a memorial to the late Dean Peacock. The nave was built in 1150, is Norman, has thirteen bays, a lofty light triforium of an arch in each bay beneath a larger arch, and a clerestory of three arches in each bay, and, though plain and gloomy, derives striking effect from its size and height. The choir is chiefly Early English, has three bays, exhibits a series of broad buttresses below, met by flying buttresses from the clerestory, possesses much beauty in traceries, statue niches, and crocketed pinnacles, terminates on the east in three storeys with lancet windows, and has in one part a Norman arch with decorated tracery. The main transept was finished about 1083, is Norman, and has east and west aisles, the latter, in the south wing, partitioned into a library and two vestries. The presbytery was built in 1335-52, is Decorated English, and has six bays. The lady chapel was built in 1321-49, stands parallel to the north wall of the choir, and has on both its east and its west front flanking pinnacled double buttresses, and an arcade of niches both above and below the great windows. The decorations of stained. glass, painting, carving, and polychromy, especially in the-octagon and the choir, are very rich, and have been undergoing much enhancement in the current repairs and restorations. The principal monuments are a coffin-lid of black marble, of the 12th century, in the choir-ambulatory; effigies-or tombs of Bishops Northwold, Alcock, West, Gray, Redmayne, Goodrich, and Hotham in the choir; the tomb of Bishop Woodford, who died in 1885, in Bishop West's chapel; and monuments of Bishops Kilkenny, Barnet, Heton, and De-Louth, Cardinal Luxemburgh, and an Earl of Worcester in the presbytery.

The chapter-house has disappeared. The vestry was built in 1200-15, and contains a figured green velvet cope of the 15th century, and some other ancient vestments. The deanery was built in the 13th century, and was originally the refectory. The infirmary chapel, on the further side of the deanery garden, was built a little earlier than the west front of the cathedral. The priory chapel was built in 1321-41, has undergone restoration, and possesses a very curious pavement with representation of the fall of Adam. Most part of the cloisters was destroyed in 1650, but the north-east angle of them still exists, and has very fine Norman doors. The-bishop's palace was built by Bishops Alcock and Goodrich,. and much improved by Bishop Keene, is a very neat brick structure, and has a gallery, 100 feet long, containing a picture of the time of Henry VII. representing forty knights. whom William the Conqueror quartered on the abbey.

Parishes, &c.?The parishes of Ely are Trinity, St Mary, and Ely College. Trinity parish includes Stuntney chapelry, part of Witcham Gravel hamlet, and part of Ely Westmoor Fen; and St Mary parish includes Chettisham chapelry and the rest of Ely Westmoor Fen. The boundaries of the city of Ely include 16,507 acres. Population of Holy Trinity, 4864; of St Mary, 3059; of Ely College, 85. There are two manors, Ely Barton and Ely Porta, the former belonging to the bishop, the latter to the dean and chapter. The livings of Trinity and St Mary are vicarages in the diocese of Ely ; net value of Holy Trinity, £230 with residence; gross value of St Mary, £300 with residence. Patrons of each, the Dean and Chapter. Holy Trinity Church, a rectangular building of stone, in the Late Decorated style, dates from 1321-49, and was formerly the lady chapel of the cathedral; and St Mary Church, rebuilt about 1215, a building of stone, in the Transitional and Early English styles, has a. nave with round columns, an Early English chancel and chapely and a good tower and spire. There is a district church dedicated to St Etheldreda, which is a plain brick building erected in 1884. Its services are conducted by the clergy of Holy Trinity. There are chapels for Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, Baptists, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Roman Catholics.

Schools and Charities.?Ely Theological College, founded in 1876, affords training to 20 students, and is under the direction of a principal and vice-principal, the bishop of the diocese being the visitor. The grammar school was founded by Henry VIII., is now carried on in the building known as Ely Porta, a fine Gothic gateway erected by Prior Buclas in 1380, and numbers among its pupils Bentham, the local historian. Mrs Needham's Free School, founded in 1740, educates and clothes 40 boys. Parsons' charity for taxes, the poor, and other purposes, has over £1000 net yearly revenue, and there is another large charity derived from land bequeathed by Bishop Laney which is devoted to the apprenticing of poor children. There is also a school for the choristers, erected in 1862, and supported by the Dean and. Chapter.

Trade, &c.?Ely has a market for corn and cattle, which is well attended, the market-day being Thursday, and fairs. lasting three days each in May and October. The May or summer fair commences on the last Thursday in May, except when that day falls on Holy Thursday, and then the Thursday before, and the October or winter fair on the last Thursday in October. There are three banks and some good inns. The chief trade is in linseed and other oils, and in the export of fruit, vegetables, and dairy produce from the surrounding- country to Cambridge and London. Ely is the seat of the corporation of the Bedford Level, which superintends the drainage of the South Level of the Fens.

The Diocese.?Ely diocese was formed in 1108, chiefly out of the diocese of Lincoln, the first bishop being Herveus, bishop of Bangor, consecrated at Ely, 27 June 1109. The bishops most conspicuous in its history are Eidel, whom A'Becket called an arch-devil; Longchamp the viceroy, who discovered Coeur-de-Lion in his dungeon ; Eustace, Hotham, and Goodrich, lord chancellors; Kilkenny, Kirkby, and Morgan. lord keepers; Balsham, the founder of Peter House in Cambridge ; Langham, Bourchier, Morton, and Luxemburgh, who were cardinals; Alcock, the founder of Jesus College in Cambridge; Eedmayne, notable for almsgiving; West, who fired the provost's lodge at King's College; Cox, whom Elizabeth swore she would unfrock; Andrews, Wren, Gunning, and Patrick