Ely Cathedral

Cathedral in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. Its long nave, high west tower, adjoining transept tower, octagon, and Lady Chapel, make it a completely original composition that stands out from the flat fenland in every direction. The present cathedral was begun by Abbot Simeon, a kinsman of William the Conqueror, in 1083, though it was not the see of a bishop until 1109.

The site was first colonized by St Etheldreda, who founded a monastery in 673. This was burnt down by the Danes in 870 and replaced with a powerful Benedictine Abbey by Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, in 970.

History and features The architecture of the present cathedral is chiefly Norman, of a variety which strikingly foreshadows English Perpendicular, the style of three centuries later. The nave (about 1110-1200) is long and unusually light, with a wooden ceiling built from 1858 to 1865. The exterior of the nave towers (west and southwest) is covered with rich, vertically accented arcading. The main tower was heightened later, in the 14th century. The original Norman chancel was extended between 1234 and 1252 with an Early English choir (the direct predecessor of the Angel Choir at Lincoln Cathedral). In 1322 the remainder of the Norman choir was demolished when the crossing tower fell. This choir was rebuilt about 1328-35 but, more important, the crossing was completely redesigned as an octagon by the sacrist, Alan de Walsingham, becoming one of the most celebrated creations of Gothic architecture. The crossing masonry was built between 1322 and 1328. The remarkable lantern, resting apparently on slender wooden rib vaults, but less visibly on a huge frame of hammerbeam struts, was erected from 1328 to 1342 by the king's carpenter, William Hurle. The final ornament to Ely was its Lady Chapel of about 1335-53, a vaulted hall lined with florid Decorated ogee arches (pointed arches formed of two convex arcs above and two concave arcs below).