January 673 A.D.
Ely Cathedral,
Cambridgeshire—Founded c. 673; Destroyed by Danes 870; Refounded by Secular Canons 9th
Century; Benedictine Monks, 970; Episcopal Diocesan See, 1170; Dissolved 1539;
Abbey Church of St. Peter & St. Etheldreda;
Cathedral Church Called “The Holy and Undivided Trinity”
Ely Cathedral
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
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Ely Cathedral
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Cathedral Church of
the Holy and Undivided Trinity
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Ely
Cathedral
Shown within
Cambridgeshire
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Location
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Country
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England
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Website
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Architecture
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Years built
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1083–1375
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Specifications
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Length
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163.7m
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Height
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66m
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21.9m
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Number oftowers
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2
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Tower height
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66m (west tower), 52m (lantern)
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Administration
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Clergy
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James Garrard
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David Pritchard, Canon Pastor
Alan Hargrave, Canon Missioner |
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Laity
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Edmund Aldhouse
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Ely Cathedral (in full, The
Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely) is the principal
church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of
Huntingdon. It is known locally as
"the ship of the Fens",[1] because of its prominent shape that towers above
the surrounding flat landscape.[citation needed]
Contents
Buildings
Previous
The precise siting of St
Etheldreda’s original monastery is not known. It appears that the tenth-century
abbey church was sited within the footprint of the present building, since in
1106, as work on the latter proceeded, it became necessary to remove St
Etheldreda’s remains from the old church to the new.[2]
Present
Overview and dimensions
Floor plan.
The ceiling of the nave and lantern, viewed from
the octagon looking west
The cathedral is built from
stone quarried from Barnack in Northamptonshire (bought from Peterborough
Abbey, whose lands included the
quarries, for 8000 eels a year), with decorative elements carved from Purbeck Marble and local clunch. The plan of the building is cruciform (cross-shaped), with an additional transept at the western end. The total length is 537 feet (163.7 m),[3] and the nave at over 75 m long (250 ft)
remains one of the longest in Britain. The west tower is 66m high
(215 ft). The unique Octagon 'Lantern Tower' is 23 m (74 ft)
wide and is 52 m (170 ft) high. Internally, from the floor to the
central roof boss the lantern is 43 m (142 ft) high.
Abbot Simeon's church
The present building was
started by Abbot Simeon (1081–94, brother of Walkelin, the then Bishop of Winchester,
where Simeon had been Prior) in 1083 during the reign of William I.[4] The design was similar to Winchester, a cruciform
plan with central crossing tower, and it was likewise one of the largest
buildings under construction north of the Alps at the time.[5] Work continued under Simeon’s successor, Abbot
Richard (1100–07) and thereafter under successive bishops. The Anglo-Saxon
church was demolished but some of its relics, such as the shrine of St
Etheldreda and the remains of other benefactors, were transferred to the new
church in 1106.[2] The main transepts were one of the first parts to
be built and are the earliest part now surviving. By about 1140 the nave had
been completed, together with the western transepts and tower up to triforium
level, where the fairly plain early Romanesque style of the earlier work gave
way to a more exuberant pattern richly decorated with intersecting arches and
complex mouldings. After a pause, work was resumed and the western transepts
and tower were completed under Bishop Geoffrey Ridel (1174–89) in similarly
ornate fashion but with pointed instead of semicircular arches.[6]
Gothic elements
Early
A Galilee porch, where liturgical processions could gather before entering the nave,
was added under Bishop
Eustace (1198–1215) in the Early English
Gothic style, and was possibly altered later in the thirteenth century. It was
originally a two-storey structure but the upper storey was unroofed in the
course of works at the beginning of the nineteenth century. . Several details
of its decoration, particularly the 'syncopated arches' and the use of Purbeck
marble shafts, reflect the influence of St Hugh's Choir at Lincoln Cathedral, built a few years earlier.[citation needed]
Under Bishop Northwold(1229–54) the short Norman chancel was extended
eastwards by the addition of a six-bay presbytery in a richly ornamented style
with extensive use of Purbeck marble. St Etheldreda’s remains were translated
to a new shrine immediately east of the high altar within the new structure,
and on completion of these works in 1252 the cathedral was reconsecrated in the
presence of King Henry III and other dignitaries.[13]
Later
The nave
The lady chapel
In 1321, under the sacrist Alan of
Walsinghamwork began on a large (100'
long by 46' wide) free-standing Lady Chapel, linked to the north aisle of the chancel by a
covered walkway. This new structure was built in an exuberant 'Decorated' Gothic style. Around most of the wall surface are sedilia-like niches, flanked bypilasters of Purbeck marble and covered by sinuous ogee arches which project forward away from the wall (sometimes known as
'nodding ogees'). Most wall surfaces are covered with richly carved vegetal and
diaper patterns which were originally brightlypolychromed. Extensive sculpture including a Life and Miracles of the Virgin cycle filled the spandrels between the niches.
On the night of 12–13 February
1322, possibly as a result of the lowering of the water table by preparatory
works for the Lady Chapel, the Norman central crossing tower collapsed. Work on
the Lady Chapel was suspended as attention transferred to dealing with this
disaster. Instead of being replaced by a new tower on the same ground plan, the
crossing was enlarged to an octagon, taking out the adjoining bays of the nave,
chancel and transepts. The construction of this unique and distinctive feature
was overseen by Alan of Walsingham.[14] The extent of his influence on the
design continues to be a matter of debate. The new space, unprecedently wide in
northern Europe, was spanned by an ingenious timber structure, ceiled with
wooden imitation vaulting and surmounted by a glazed lantern. Extensive records
of expenditure survive, including very substantial payments in 1328 for visits
by one William Hurley[15], who can be confidently identified with a master
carpenter of that name with a senior position in the royal service[16].
The choir
It is unclear what damage was
caused to the Norman chancel by the fall of the tower, but the three remaining
bays were reconstructed under Bishop John Hotham (1316-1337) in a very ornate
Decorated style with flowing tracery. Structural evidence shows that this work
was a remodelling rather than a total rebuilding.[17] New choirstalls with
carved misericords and canopy work were installed beneath the octagon, in a
similar position to their predecessors. Work was resumed on the Lady Chapel,
and the two westernmost bays of Northwold’s presbytery were adapted by
unroofing the triforia so as to enhance the lighting of Etheldreda’s shrine.
Starting at about the same time the remaining lancet windows of the aisles and
triforia of the presbytery were gradually replaced by broad windows with
flowing tracery. At the same period extensive work took place on the monastic
buildings, including the construction of the elegant chapel of Prior Crauden.
In about 1400 an octagonal
lantern was added to the top of the west tower, and additional arches were
inserted in the western crossing to arrest movement possibly caused or
exacerbated by the extra weight. Later in the fifteenth century, or very early
in the sixteenth, the north-west transept collapsed.
In the late fifteenth and
early sixteenth centuries elaborate chantry chapels were inserted in the
easternmost bays of the presbytery aisles, on the north for Bishop John Alcock
(1486-1500) and on the south for Bishop Nicholas West (1515–33).
Later history
of the building
The rood screen viewed from the nave
Following the Dissolution
nearly all the stained glass and much of the sculpture in the Cathedral were
destroyed; in the Lady Chapel the free-standing statues were removed and the
other carved figures were decapitated. This was almost certainly at the
instigation of reformist Bishop Thomas Goodrich (1534–54) who is on record as
ordering churchwardens in the diocese to suppress images.[18] Some commentators
have suggested that significant destruction occurred during the Civil War and
the Commonwealth[19], but most of the evidence points to there having been
little imagery left to destroy by then.[20] In the 1690s a number of very fine
baroque furnishings were introduced, notably a marble font, and an organ case
mounted on the Romanesque pulpitum (the stone screen dividing the nave from the
liturgical choir) with trumpeting angels and other embellishments.[21] In 1699
the north-west corner of the north transept collapsed and there was extensive
rebuilding, closely replicating the original medieval work - a very early
example of such practice. However, the works included the insertion of a fine
classical doorway in the north face. The name of Sir Christopher Wren has
sometimes been associated with this latter feature. In fact it was the work of
Robert Grumbold who had worked with Wren on Trinity College Library in Cambridge
a few years earlier.[22] Wren’s uncle Matthew Wren was Bishop from 1638 to
1667, and Sir Christopher must have been familiar with the Cathedral, but
surviving documentation indicates that he was personally involved only to the
extent that he was among a number of people with whom the Dean (John Lambe
1693-1708) discussed the proposed works during a visit to London.[23]
The high altar
The south aisle of the nave looking west
By the middle of the
eighteenth century a number of structural problems had become apparent. The
architect James Essex carried out major works between 1757 and 1770, including
repairs and alterations to the timber structure of the octagon, redesigning the
exterior of the lantern in “gothick” style, re-roofing the entire eastern arm
and righting the eastern gable which was leaning outwards.[24] He also
re-ordered the interior, removing the Romanesque pulpitum and moving the
liturgical choir to the far east end, with a new “gothick” choir screen two
bays east of the octagon, surmounted by the 1690s organ case.[25] However,
Essex and the overseeing Canon James Bentham were both people of strong
antiquarian interests and the restoration as a whole was relatively sympathetic
by the standards of the period.
The next major period of restoration
began in the 1840s and much of the oversight was the responsibility of Dean
George Peacock (1839–58). In 1845 the architect George Basevi fell to his death
in the west tower, but it appears that he was inspecting works in progress out
of interest and had not been engaged professionally. George Gilbert Scott was
responsible for various major works from 1847 but does not appear to have had
any comprehensive brief to restore the entire building. This was his first
cathedral commission. He returned the octagon lantern to a form which, to judge
from pre-Essex depictions, seems to be genuinely close to the original. He
again re-ordered the choir, moving the fourteenth-century stalls and the high
altar two bays westwards, creating a carved wooden screen at the entrance to
the choir from the octagon, and installing a lavishly carved and ornamented
alabaster reredos. Various new furnishings replaced the baroque items from the
1690s. At the same period a great deal of stained glass by William Wailes and
others was put in the windows of the octagon, the transepts and the eastern
arm. A timber boarded ceiling was installed in the nave and painted with scenes
from the Old and New Testaments, first by Henry Le Strange and then, after Le
Strange’s death in 1862, completed by Thomas Gambier Parry, who also repainted
the interior of the octagon.
A further major programme of
structural restoration took place between 1986 and 2000 under Deans William
Patterson (1984–90) and Michael Higgins (1991-2003), directed by successive
Surveyors to the Fabric, initially Peter Miller and from 1994 Jane Kennedy. In
2000 a Processional Way was built, restoring the direct link between the north
choir aisle and the Lady Chapel.
Religious community
Ely has been an important
centre of Christian worship since the seventh century AD. Most of what is known
about its history before the Norman Conquest comes from Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum [7] written early in the eighth century and from the Liber Eliensis,[8] an anonymous chronicle written at Ely some time in
the twelfth century, drawing on Bede for the very early years, and covering the
history of the community until the twelfth century.[citation needed] According to these sources the first Christian community here was founded
by St. Æthelthryth (romanised as "Etheldreda"), daughter of
the Anglo-Saxon King Anna of
East Anglia, who was born at Exning near Newmarket.[9] She may have acquired land at Ely from her first
husband Tondberht, described by Bede as a "prince" of the South Gyrwas.[10] After the end of her second marriage to Ecgfrith, a prince of Northumbria, in 673 she set up and ruled as Abbess a dual
monastery at Ely for men and for women. When she died, a shrine was built there
to her memory. This monastery is recorded as having been destroyed in about 870
in the course of Danish invasions. However, while the lay settlement of the time would have been a minor one, it is likely that a
church survived there until its refoundation in the 10th century.[11] The history of the religious community during that
period is unclear, but accounts of the refoundation in the tenth century [12] suggest that there had been an establishment of
secular priests.
In the course of the revival
of the English church under Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Aethelwold,
Bishop of Winchester, a new Benedictine abbey for men was established in Ely in
970. This was one of a wave of monastic refoundations which locally included Peterborough and Ramsey.[13] Ely became one of the leading Benedictine houses in
late Anglo-Saxon England. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066 the
abbey allied itself with the local resistance to Norman rule led by Hereward
the Wake. The new regime having established control of the area, after the
death of the abbot Thurstan, a Norman successor Theodwine was installed. In
1109 Ely attained cathedral status with the appointment of Hervey le Breton as
Bishop of the new diocese which was taken out of the very large diocese of Lincoln.
This involved a division of the monastic property between the bishopric and the
monastery, whose establishment was reduced from 70 to 40 monks. Its status
changed to that of a priory, with the bishop as titular abbot.
In 1539, during the Dissolution
of the monasteries, the priory surrendered to Henry VIII’s commissioners.[14] The cathedral was refounded by royal charter in
1541 [15] with the former prior Robert Steward as Dean and
the majority of the former monks as prebendaries and minor canons, supplemented
by Matthew Parker, later Archbishop of Canterbury, and Richard Cox, later
Bishop of Ely. With a brief interruption from 1649 to 1660 during the
Commonwealth, when all cathedrals were abolished, this foundation has continued
in its essentials to the twenty-first century, with a reduced number of
residentiary canons now supplemented by a number of lay canons appointed under
a Church Measure of 1999.[16]
As with other cathedrals,
Ely’s pattern of worship centres around the Opus
Dei, the daily programme of services drawing significantly on the
Benedictine tradition. It also serves as the mother church of the Diocese and
ministers to a substantial local congregation. At the Dissolution the
veneration of St Etheldreda was suppressed, her shrine in the Cathedral was
destroyed, and the dedication of the cathedral to her and St Peter was replaced
by the present dedication to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Since 1873 the
practice of honouring her memory has been revived,[17] and annual festivals are celebrated, commemorating
events in her life and the successive “translations” - removals of her remains
to new shrines – which took place in subsequent centuries.
Clergy
- Canon Pastor – The Revd Canon David Pritchard (Pastor since mid-2008;[19] additionally Acting Dean, 2011–2012; also Vice-Dean, early 2008–30 September 2011; previously Canon Precentor, 2004–mid-2008)[20]
- Canon Precentor – The Revd Canon Dr James Garrard (since 29 November 2008 installation)[23]
Burials
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·
William
of Kilkenny, Lord Chancellor of
England and Bishop of Ely (1254–1256) – his heart was buried here, having
died in Spain on a diplomatic mission for the king
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Richard
Cox, Bishop of Ely (1550–1581) – is
buried under choir box. (tomb was covered when they built choir box)
·
Edmund Keene, Bishop of Ely (1771–1781) – in West's Chapel (his
wife, Mary, was buried in the south side of the choir)
·
James
Woodford, Bishop of Ely (1873–1885)
– in Bishop Wren's chapel on the south side of the cathedral choir
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Music
The organ
Organ
Organists
See also: List of musicians at English cathedrals
Stained Glass Museum
The south triforium is home to the Stained
Glass Museum, a collection of stained glassfrom
the 13th century to the present that is of national importance and includes
works from notable contemporary artists including Ervin Bossanyi.[citation
needed]
In popular culture
- The cathedral appears on the horizon in the cover photo of Pink Floyd's 1994 albumThe Division Bell.
- A number of John Rutter's choral albums feature the cathedral, a reference to early recordings of his music being performed and recorded in the Lady chapel.
- Direct references to the cathedral appear in the children's book Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce. A full-length movie with the same title was released in 1999.
- Parts of Marcus Sedgwick's 2000 novel Floodland take place at the cathedral after the sea has consumed the land around it turning Ely into an island.
- A week's filming took place in November 2009 at the cathedral, when it substituted for Westminster Abbey in The King's Speech.[24]
See also
References
5.
Jump up^ A History of Ely Cathedral, ed. Peter Meadows and Nigel
Ramsay, Boydell Press 2003 ISBN 0 85115 945 1 Chapter 4 Architecture and sculpture in the
Norman period Eric Fernie pp 95-96
6.
Jump up^ H Wharton (ed.) Anglia Sacra, sive collectio Historiarum,
partim recenter scriptarum, de Archiepiscopis Angliae, a prima Fidei
Christianae ad Annum MDXL, 2 vols. (London, 1691)
7.
Jump up^ English translation from the Latin A History of the
English Church and People Penguin Books 1968 ISBN 0 14 044042 9
8.
Jump up^ Fairweather, Janet English translation from the Latin
Liber Eliensis, a History of the Isle of Ely from the Seventh Century to the
Twelfth The Boydell Press 2005 ISBN 1 84383 015 9
11.
Jump up^ Whitelock, D., 'The Conversion of the Eastern Danelaw',
in Saga-Book of the Viking Society 12, London 1941.
13.
Jump up^ [1] Consumption and Pastoral Resources on the Early Medieval
Estate, accessed 12 July 2007
17.
Jump up^ Charles Merivale, St Etheldreda Festival. Summary of
Proceedings with Sermons and Addresses at the Bissexcentenary Festival of St
Etheldreda in Ely, October 1873 (Ely, 1873)
18.
Jump up^ "Ely Cathedral – The Installation of Canon Mark
Bonney as Dean". Elycathedral.org. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
19.
Jump up^ "Diocese of Ely – New Precentor at Ely
Cathedral".
Ely.anglican.org. 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
20.
^ Jump up
to:a b "Cambridge News – Cathedral gets ready to welcome
new canons with special service". Cambridge-news.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
23.
Jump up^ "Diocese of Ely – Installation of the
Precentor".
Ely.anglican.org. 2008-11-29. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
26.
Jump up^ Setting up for filming of Macbeth at Ely Cathedral gets
underway Retrieved 26 March 2014
Further reading
- Peter Meadows and Nigel Ramsay, eds., A History of Ely Cathedral (The Boydell Press, 2003).
- Lynne Broughton, Interpreting Ely Cathedral (Ely Cathedral Publications, 2008).
- John Maddison, Ely Cathedral: Design and Meaning (Ely Cathedral Publications, 2000).
- Janet Fairweather, trans., Liber Eliensis: A History of the Isle of Ely from the Seventh Century to the Twelfth Compiled by a Monk of Ely in the Twelfth Century (The Boydell Press, 2005).
- Peter Meadows, ed., Ely: Bishops and Diocese, 1109–2009 (The Boydell Press, 2010).
External links
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