Highly regarded by historians and architects around the world for its beauty and scale, Ely Cathedral is the only building in the UK to be listed as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages". Visible for miles around, the Cathedral is often referred to as "The Ship of Fens".
The city of Ely may be small compared to other cities, but its Cathedral is a magnificent structure with a history dating back over 1300 years. Despite its remoteness, Ely has an association with well-known kings and saints who have shaped our history – King Canute, William the Conqueror, Hereward the Wake, Henry III, Edward III, Queen Phillipa and Oliver Cromwell.
The almost legendary founder of this cathedral was Etheldreda, the wife of a Northumbrian king who founded a monastery on the site in 673 AD. Etheldreda’s monastery flourished for 200 years until it was destroyed by the Danes. It was refounded as a Benedictine community in 970.
The present structure dates from 1081 and is a remarkable example of Romanesque and Norman architecture. It was during the early part of the 12th century that the existing monastic church was granted cathedral status and since then there have been various additions, alterations and restorations over the centuries.
Ely Cathedral is located in the centre of this historic city and is surrounded by medieval monastic buildings, parks and lawns.
The nave is the third longest in the UK and the same length as Ely High Street. Its spectacular painted panel roof depicts the Tree of Jesse, and moves from Creation to Revelation as you walk from the West End to the Crossing. The impressive Gothic columns of the nave lead you from the west main door to another unique feature of this cathedral, an octagonal shaped tower.
Completed in 1334 by Royal carpenter William Hurley, the wooden skylight above the octagonal central tower of Ely Cathedral is one of the greatest works of medieval structural engineering. From the floor of the cathedral, the skylight appears as the centre of a large, eight-pointed star.
Completed in 1349, Ely Cathedral’s Lady Chapel is the largest of its kind in the UK. Visitors are always struck not only by its size but by the extraordinary sense of light and vastness of this magnificent space. This beauty is tempered by the destructiveness of the Reformation, as many of the figures carved into the walls are decapitated or defaced. Both the architectural beauty and historical significance of this chapel are world renowned.
