It is not claimed for Bishop Eustace that his work here is the earliest known specimen of the style finished in so perfect a form. At Lincoln the choir was erected in the time of Bishop Hugh, who died in 1200. Some features there have been pointed out that shew that the style was a new departure, and that the architect was feeling his way. It is admitted that there is not to be found an earlier dated example of the finest Early English work than the choir at Lincoln. Second only to this the galilee porch at Ely may take rank. Other erections of very nearly the same date have admirable work, such as the lady-chapel at Winchester and the east end of Chichester; but there is nothing in either of those examples to compare with the elaborate richness of detail at Ely.

The West Tower has six stages of Early English date above the porch. Three of these have each three separate lancet windows, the two lower having banded shafts. In the projecting corner turrets are lancets of similar design in the two upper stages, but not so broad and not pierced for windows; while in the lowest stage in the turrets above the porch are several tall, thin, trefoiled lancets, having more the character of Transition Norman work. Between the window ranges are arcades of short, deep, trefoiled lancets; at the top below the parapet and corbel table are five quatrefoils in circles, one not pierced. On the north and south sides are but two ranges of windows. The tower must, of course, have been built before the porch, and may consequently be assigned to the last years of the twelfth century; and it is a noble specimen for such an early date. The upper Decorated stage consists of an octagon having a fine window of three lights in each face, the part below the transom not glazed, and an open parapet above. At the corners are octagonal turrets, with open lights above the level of the central portion, and plain parapets. The turrets are detached from the centre, except at the top and bottom. The latest calculations give the height of these turrets as 215 feet. This would be nearly the same as the central tower at Durham.

The Early English tower must have had some erection above it, probably of wood, of a low pyramidal form. But before long it was replaced by something of a better style. Bishop Northwold (1229-1254) "construxit de novo turrim ligneam versus galileam ab opere cementario usque ad summitatem." This was in turn removed when the present octagonal stage was erected, about the year 1400. This addition was soon found to be a source of danger, and it threatened the destruction of the whole tower. For several years, in the middle of the fifteenth century, the tower was undergoing repairs. Before this the upper part had been braced together with frames of timber. In the interior, as will be seen hereafter, inner arches of great strength were inserted under the original Norman arches of the tower. A light and thin wooden spire was unwisely placed at the top, and this was in 1757 reported to be in bad condition, and injurious to the tower. It was not finally restored till about 1801, when the whole of the upper portion, including the corner turrets, was materially strengthened.



On the west face of the buttress, built against the tower in the north, can be seen some panels of Perpendicular date. These have suggested the idea that it was in contemplation to rebuild what had fallen in a later style.

Notwithstanding the ruins, the view of the cathedral from the north-west is very striking, and in some respects more remarkable than any other (see p. 2). We have here the only external view of the whole length of the North Side Of The Nave. With the exception of the clerestory range, and, of course, the north transept, the first impression is not that of a Norman building. The single broad light of the Norman clerestory, with its adjacent round-headed lancets in the wall, remains in each bay unaltered. Above these windows was once a battlement; but Miller records, in 1834, that it was "removed within the last sixty years." The aisle battlement remains. The walls of the triforium were raised, and the Norman windows, both of the aisle and triforium, altered, in the Perpendicular period, the alterations having been begun on the south side in 1469. All these windows now have ogee arches, and are of three lights. The tracery is unimposing. About the middle of the wall can be distinctly seen the marks of the door and covered way that led from the cathedral to the Church of S. Cross. This church had been erected in the early part of the fourteenth century, but (as has been mentioned, p. 29), was found in 1566 to be too dilapidated for use, and beyond repair. It was accordingly destroyed, and the lady-chapel assigned, in lieu of it, to the parishioners for their parish church. Either the fabric of this church must have been strangely neglected by its custodians, or it must have been very inferior in merit of construction to Walsingham's work, which was being erected at the same time, if it could last no longer than about two hundred and thirty years. Round the clerestory windows and arcading can be seen the billet moulding; under the triforium parapet is a corbel table with billets; below the triforium windows is a string-course consisting of little double squares with a diagonal (sometimes called the hatched moulding), a form of ornament not one of the most common. Good examples of it are to be seen in Westminster Hall. In the sixth bay from the transept is a tablet with the date 1662. This must be the time when some alterations were made; but it can neither refer to the raising of the triforium walls, nor to the building up the wall when the door to the destroyed church was no longer needed. Between this point and the transepts can be plainly seen the marks of the original Norman windows over the heads of the existing Perpendicular ones.

The Octagon can be nowhere seen to better advantage than from this point of view. Restored as a memorial to Dean Peacock, it has been brought as nearly as possible to what Walsingham intended; for it is not quite certain that he entirely completed his own design. The quadrangular turrets, for instance, at the corners of the lantern, were probably meant to be surmounted by pinnacles. These were included in Scott's original designs for the restoration, but have not been erected. Indeed, two of Bentham's views of the building represent pinnacles at the corners of both octagon and lantern, while one view has them to neither. It is certain also that there were slighter pinnacles designed for the middle of the longer sides of the octagon. These have now been built. The lantern has quite recovered its original beauty, after being sadly mutilated and altered at various times. During the discussions about the correct way of completing the lantern not a few persons maintained that the true termination of the whole was a lofty, light, open spire, and that if Walsingham never erected one, he must, at least, have had one in contemplation. The examination of the interior construction leaves no doubt whatever that no such fleche was ever erected, and also that Walsingham intentionally completed the whole without making any preparation for the addition of such a feature, a preparation which he would beyond question have made had he thought a spire was necessary to the completion of the work.

The octagon is not equilateral. The cardinal faces, being equal to the inner breadth of the nave and transepts, are the longer. In all the faces just below the open parapet are arcades of cinquefoiled arches, some of them pierced for windows. The cardinal faces have each six such arches, and the other faces only three. These shorter sides only have large windows, the others abutting directly upon the roofs. These large windows have exquisite tracery; they are all of four lights, with transoms, and are beneath arches unusually acute for the Decorated period. The windows in the lantern are new, Essex having destroyed the original four-light windows and substituted poor ones of three lights each.

The way in which the octagon and lantern combine in producing a perfectly harmonious composition is in great part due to two points of difference, points which very few observers detect. These are, firstly, that the lantern is a regular octagon, having all its sides equal, in this respect being unlike the stone octagon beneath it; and, secondly, that the eight faces of the lantern are not parallel to the eight faces of the octagon. The new windows of the lantern are similar to the large ones below, but are not mere copies of them. The upper stage of the lantern, above the roof as seen from within, was once a bell-chamber; its lights are not, and never have been, glazed. The whole of the lantern is of wood, covered with lead. Two flying buttresses rise from the corners of the nave and transept aisles to the corbel table of the clerestory range. There are also eight elegant flying buttresses, one to each of the angles of the lantern. These are part of the new work, the originals having long disappeared.

The North Transept retains its original Norman windows in the lower stage of its western aisle, though we must remember that the north-western angle of this transept fell down in 1699, and was rebuilt[9] under the superintendence of Sir Christopher Wren. It is said that an earthquake had occurred some few years before, and had caused some damage which was not suspected at the time. However much we may admire Wren's constructive genius, we cannot justify the incongruous door in the north wall of the transept, for which we take it for granted he was responsible. It is in the classical style, utterly out of keeping with the architecture near. The arch and jambs of the Norman window above it were replaced; but this again is spoilt by the insertion of rude unadorned mullions. The corresponding window over the eastern aisle is original and unaltered. The north end of the transept has also Norman lights, larger than those below, on the second range; while above are two large Perpendicular windows, each of three lights, with transoms. To see the east wall of the transept we have to go round the lady-chapel. Here both triforium and clerestory are in their original Norman condition. The lower windows are Decorated.

It cannot but be regretted that the two large windows east and west of The Lady-Chapel are not portions of the building as it stood at first. That to the east, of seven lights, is known to have been inserted by Bishop Barnet, who died in 1373. The authority for this is the sacrist's roll for that year. The item is given in Dean Stubbs' "Historical Memorials," p. 147. The bishop's executors paid L20 "for making a certain window in the lady-chapel near the high altar in the preceding year." The west window, of eight lights, is of somewhat later date. Considering that the chapel was finished in 1349, and that there is no reason to doubt that the east and west ends were adorned with fine windows of the same character as those in the sides, it seems extraordinary that within twenty-five years it should have been thought worth while to alter the eastern end. Was the alteration made in connection with the insertion of a grander reredos than had been at first provided? This seems possible, as may be judged from the following observations of the present Dean: "It is evident from indications supplied by the masonry of the central light of the east window, the mullions of which are of unusual solidity, that the Reredos and East window were originally combined in some structure, of which the chief object was the large figure of S. Mary, often mentioned in the Rolls of the Custos Capellae, and which must have occupied a canopied niche, blocking up the whole of the middle light from sill to transom."[10] The design of the east window is inelegant, the transom is heavy, and the tracery in the large circle at the top spoils the effect of the window as a whole.



The west window, except for the central portion at the top and the heavy mullions, is just like two of the side windows placed side by side. But here again the vertical lines in the upper part harmonise ill with the rest. There are some good niches at the west end above the window, but there are no figures in them; and there are shallow arches on the surface of the wall, on each side of the window as well as beneath it. Above most of the niches are shields with heraldic bearings, twelve in all. Among these are the coats of Edward the Confessor, the See of Ely, Bishops Hotham, Montacute, Fordham, and perhaps Barnet.[11] One shield has a cross, and one a lion between three helmets. The arms of the monastery—three keys (said to have been adopted from Bishop Ethelwold of Winchester)—occur four times, in three cases with initials beneath. These initials are: A. W., which may certainly be assigned to Alan de Walsingham; J. C.; and C. W. S. From the occurrence of Bishop Fordham's arms we may conclude that this west end was reconstructed, or at least that its reconstruction was completed, in his time (1388-1425). In some of the lower niches are memorial tablets.

On each side of the lady-chapel are five large windows of four lights each, with very beautiful tracery. Those on the north side have been thoroughly restored within the last few years. At the same time the cusps have been replaced in the large circles, of which two are over the head of each window. Between the windows are buttresses, necessarily large, to support the vast extent of the stone-groined roof. At the four corners are double buttresses, with much larger pinnacles, and two niches toward the top, the upper one shallow, but the lower deep enough to hold a statue, and with a projecting canopy. The east end is less decorated than the west. There was once, as it seems, some sculptured figure or figures in front of the upper part of the window, no doubt destroyed when the interior was mutilated.



"The East End of the cathedral itself (Bishop Hugh's work) is a grand example of Early English."[12] Except for the windows of the chapels of Bishops Alcock and West in the aisles, and that the Early English lancets in the triforium range in the south aisle have been removed and a plain wall substituted, this eastern front is almost unaltered. It does not appear when this last alteration was made. In the view in Bentham, dated 1767, are represented lancets glazed and blank, exactly similar to those in the triforium on the north. The windows are all lancets, without any cusping. Their grouping is specially effective. In the centre, in the lowest stage, are three broad lancets of equal height, divided by shafts, and with deep mouldings, and with two sets of dogtooth all round. Below the string-course above are four deep quatrefoils. In the next stage the lancets are five in number, the central one being the tallest, while above the outer ones are trefoiled niches; and there are two six-foils below the next string-course. The upper stage has three lancets of equal height, which give light to the space above the stone-groined roof, with a small trefoiled arch, unglazed, and half of another on each side. In the gable are three large sunk panels, two of six cusps, and one of eight. The whole is surmounted by a large handsome cross, restored at the expense of Lady Mildred Hope. The large buttresses on each side of the central group of windows have four niches on each side, the three upper ones having bases to support statues; the upper and lower of these have trefoiled heads, the two others cinquefoiled heads. At the summit are sunk trefoils under the gabled tops; and a little further to the west, on the south, the whole is finished by an octangular turret with shallow arches and a pyramidal top with crockets.[13] The buttresses at the corners of the aisles have much loftier pyramidal heads. These have also crockets. The east end of the triforium range on the north is particularly good. The east window of Bishop Alcock's chapel, which was of course in existence long before his time, is round-headed, with four lights, and some good Decorated tracery. That to Bishop West's chapel, in the south aisle, is of five lights, of very late Perpendicular character. It may be noticed that the window in the north aisle is in the wall as originally built, but in the south aisle the whole wall has been advanced further east, as far as the bases of the buttresses.

Both of The Aisles have on the sides large pinnacled buttresses of graceful design; and from all of these on the north, and from some on the south, there rise flying buttresses to support the roof of the presbytery and choir. Two of the bays on the south side have the Early English triforium range unaltered. This gives the original height of Bishop Hugh's triforium walls. Below the parapet here is a characteristic corbel table. These bays form the western portion of Bishop Hugh's work in the presbytery.



The retention of this little portion of the Early English Triforium is very interesting and instructive; for we should otherwise not have known precisely how this part of the work had been carried out. Professor Willis traced out with great care the alterations to which the presbytery had been subjected, and his conclusions are given in Canon Stewart's book. Early triforium windows were only for lighting the triforium passage; they were small, and could not be seen from the floor of the church. It will be noticed that the windows remaining in the portion spoken of are quite small and quite close to the floor. The changes that were made in the three great Norman minsters, Norwich, Peterborough, and Ely, were "made evidently for the purpose of introducing more light into the church." The walls were raised, the windows much enlarged, and the slope of the roof consequently much flattened. No doubt, as regards dimensions, Bishop Hugh's triforium was a continuation of the Norman triforium of the choir. The first appearance of a high triforium outer wall is in Bishop Hotham's work (1316-1337). "In the following centuries this new form was extended by alterations, first to Hugh de Northwold's presbytery and next to the nave. But before the Early English gallery had been thus completely transformed, it happened that some architect, apparently employed by Bishop Barnet [1366-1374], introduced in two of the southern compartments a method of getting rid of the gloom of the low-windowed, Early English triforium, which, although perfectly successful within the church, would, if it had been carried throughout, have been productive of a most injurious effect upon the appearance of the fabric within and without, as may be seen at present in the compartments in question."[14] This method was to remove entirely the triforium roof, and to convert the open arcade of the triforium towards the church into windows by filling the tracery with glass. The designer thus introduced a flood of light upon the choir altar, the shrines in the neighbourhood, and Bishop Barnet's tomb under the pier arch, which is beneath one of these windows. Fortunately the experiment was not repeated. After some time had elapsed, the changes above indicated were carried out; the low Early English triforium outer wall was removed, and the loftier Decorated wall and windows erected. In the extract above given it looks as if the removal of the triforium roof, putting a lead roof to the aisle below, and turning the triforium arches into windows, were confined to these two bays on the south. But the same thing was also done in the two corresponding bays on the north. But there, when the later raising of the triforium walls took place, this raised wall was continued over the two bays in question; and we do not now see there any remains of Early English work.



In the east wall of the South Transept are broad, geometrical windows of two lights each. At the top of the southern face of this transept, deeply recessed, is an extraordinary Perpendicular window of seven lights. There seems no record of this being constructed. By the remains of corbels in the lower part of the wall we see that there was once a covered passage here, no doubt connecting the cloister with the chapter-house.

Beyond the transept are three Norman doors of exceptional interest. One, indeed, is in the west side of the transept, and must have been the original entrance here into the church. It is now quite blocked up with stone. It has only recently been discovered. There are remains of two Norman doors, the lower, with enriched mouldings and shaft, being considerably later in date than the round arch above it. This latter has the nail-head ornament. The northern end of the arch is concealed, as well as the eastern end of the adjoining door into the south aisle, by a mass of masonry built for a buttress.

The door into the south aisle is known as The Monks' Door, and is the regular entrance into the cathedral from the south. It opened from the eastern walk of the cloister. It is of later date than the wall in which it is placed. The ornamentation is very rich; one spiral column is especially noteworthy. There is a trefoiled arch, the cusps having circular terminations with the star ornament. In the spandrels are quaint, crouching monks, each holding a pastoral staff. Above are two curiously twisted dragons.

The Prior's Door is nearly at the west end of the north alley of the cloister. Like the monks' door, it is an insertion, being later than the wall. It is a very fine specimen of late Norman. The tympanum is filled with carving in high relief. In the centre is the Saviour, seated, enclosed within a vesica piscis, His right hand uplifted in blessing, His left hand resting on an open book; His bare feet rest upon the border of the oval enclosure. This oval is supported by two angels, the arms which hold the upper part being abnormally lengthened. On each side is a round shaft, enriched with a deeply cut series of ornaments running in a spiral; and at the head is a cushion capital with interlacing ornamentation. On each side of the shaft is a square pillar, the outer one having some curious figures of beasts and other objects enclosed in circular rings, while the foliage of the inner one is singularly like a premature specimen of Early English conventional decoration. The topmost stone of this inner jamb is enlarged into a corbel to support the lintel, and is carved with a large face. The expense of the restoration of this doorway was undertaken by the Bedfordshire Architectural Society.[15]

One or two bays of the north alley of The Cloister have been lately restored by Canon Dickson as a vestry for the choir-boys. These are not, of course, now open to the air. Against the wall of the church can be seen the Norman arcading, showing there were cloisters from the first; while the remains of the windows towards the cloister enclosure, to be seen in the north and east alleys, tell us that they were rebuilt in the Perpendicular period, probably in the last quarter of the fifteenth century. Some corbels remain in the wall of the cathedral. The roof of the cloister was therefore of wood; but there are remains of vaulting to the west of the prior's door, so perhaps the western alley had a stone roof. The first window to the west of the prior's door is original Norman; all the rest (except one) were changed into three light windows, apparently of the same date as those in the north aisle, but have lately been reconstructed in the Norman style. This applies only to the windows in the aisle; those in the triforium are of three lights, similar to those removed from the aisle; and those in the clerestory are the original Norman, just as on the north side.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Not many persons who travel by the Great Northern main line know that a good view of Lincoln Cathedral is to be obtained from it.

[2] Introduction to Farren's "Cathedral Cities of Ely and Norwich."

[3] Population of Ely, 1891, was 6,646; of Wells, 5,899.

[4] Ely is almost universally called a city, upon the supposition that the mere fact of its having a cathedral constitutes the town a city. But since the Norman Conquest the dignity of a city has always been conferred by grant, and no such grant is known to have been made to Ely.

[5] An American visitor whom the writer was once conducting over Peterborough Cathedral observed, "This is a very large church for so small a place." Ely is about a quarter of the size of Peterborough in respect to population.

[6] But there is no indication that such a roof actually reached the tower.

[7] Scott's Paper, read at Bissexcentenary Festival, 1873.

[8] From the additions to Rickman's "Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of Architecture in England," given in the 5th ed., 1848. The "happy effect" described is in the interior of the porch.

[9] Some money was raised towards the expense of this rebuilding by means of a brief. At Castor, co. Northants, 5s. 4-1/2d. was sent "for Ely Cathedral"; this was in 1701. In the same year, at Bishop's Hatfield, co. Herts, L1 5s. 2-1/2d. was raised upon the "Brief for Ely Cathedral." In the following year a brief was issued for a fire in the city of Ely, but it does not appear that this had anything to do with the cathedral.

[10] "Historical Memorials," p. 116.

[11] One shield has a saltire: Bishop Barnet used a saltire with a leopard's head in chief.

[12] Murray's "Eastern Cathedrals," p. 221.

[13] The cost of this pinnacle was defrayed by Mr. Beresford Hope. The corresponding pinnacle on the north is still wanting. It is, however, figured, by mistake, in the view of the east end in Murray's "Eastern Cathedrals."

[14] Professor Willis's observations upon this subject are given in Stewart's "Architectural History," pp. 76-81.

[15] Bishop Goodwin's "Ely Gossip," 1892, p. 48.



CHAPTER III.

THE CATHEDRAL: INTERIOR.

Entering the cathedral from the west, we have the full view of the entire building, the vista being not broken, but relieved, by the open screen. Before examining the nave itself, the visitor should inspect the lower part of the west tower, beneath which he is standing. The curious labyrinth worked in the pavement was there placed by Sir G. G. Scott, and is believed to have been designed by him, and not copied from any foreign example. The troubles that arose from the great weight of the tower have been already described. We can here see the methods taken to secure the stability of the structure.[1] Very massive Perpendicular arches have been built beneath the lofty Norman ones; and all the four great piers were surrounded with masonry at the same time. Both Bentham and Miller give the date 1405-1406 for the beginning of this work. This date is quite consistent with the character of the mouldings of the arches. There was at one time a plaster ceiling just above these lower arches.

Above the inner west door is a series of panels bearing coats of arms, so much resembling the fronts of galleries built for the accommodation of instrumental performers—which were known as "Minstrels' galleries"—as to suggest the idea that the large room over the porch was devoted to this purpose. The window above is an unfortunate insertion, dating only from 1800; and this, as well as the stained glass with which it is filled, could well be spared.

The Western Transept and S. Catharine's Chapel.—The Transitional character of the late Norman work here is more marked than on the outside of the west front. It will be noticed that the great arches of the tower, though retaining all other characteristics of the period, are pointed. There are two rows of mouldings, and in the spandrels above are pointed ovals. Above the string-course are three stages: the lowest has three sets of lofty trefoiled lancets, supported by double detached shafts; above is a similar series, less lofty; at the top are three large glazed windows. The painted ceiling of the tower was Mr. le Strange's first experiment in painting at Ely. Some ancient decoration in the vault of the south aisle of the nave had been brought to light when he was on a visit at the Deanery, and this to some extent suggested the thought of painting the flat roof of the tower. The subject is the Creation. We see the right hand of the Lord; the Saviour holding a globe, surrounded by the heavenly bodies of the fourth day of the Creation; the Holy Dove; angels holding scrolls, with the Trisagion; and all these are in circular designs, united by branches of foliage. A very sad accident occurred during the early period of the restoration of the tower in 1845, when Mr. Basevi, the architect, met his death by falling from the upper floor of the scaffold which had been erected for the work. He was buried in the cathedral, and a brass has been laid over his grave. He was not in any way professionally connected with the work of the restoration.



The very late appearance of the highly enriched work in the south part of the western transept makes it probable that this part was completed in quite the latest years of the twelfth century. The zigzag mouldings to the two arches in the east are of extraordinary richness; one opens to the south aisle, and one to S. Catharine's chapel. The whole of this arm of the transept was at one time walled off, and the chapel itself was destroyed. This has been rebuilt, under the advice and authority of Professor Willis. The Woodford Trustees of the Theological College were at the expense of providing the alabaster altar; and the chapel is now used for the daily service of the members of that college, as well as for early celebrations of Holy Communion. Although now known as S. Catharine's chapel, it has never, strictly speaking, been so dedicated; and the present Dean has pointed out that the name was given under a misapprehension. The font in the transept was the gift of Canon Selwyn. Its style is in keeping with the adjacent architecture. The north portion of the western transept is entirely walled off. No documentary evidence has been discovered to decide if it had been actually built. The old tradition of the cathedral was that it had been finished by Bishop Eustace at the beginning of the thirteenth century.

The Nave.—Originally of thirteen bays, but since the fall of the central tower of twelve bays, the nave is a most complete and perfect specimen of late Norman work. The naves of Ely and Peterborough are conspicuously the best examples of the period in England. In most respects they are very similar, and it would be difficult to pronounce one superior to the other. In one point, indeed, the superiority is with the Ely nave. There is not in it the slightest mixture of any Transitional details. At Peterborough we can detect, towards the west, some unmistakable evidences of the approaching change in style.

It is believed that the nave was completed in the time of Bishop Riddell—that is, before 1173. This is probably somewhat earlier than the nave at Peterborough; but both were obviously being built at the same time for the greater part of the period of their erection. Both are manifestly superior to Norwich, where (to mention only one point) the excessive height of the triforium arches and the comparative low elevation of the nave arches—so that the two arcades are almost of the same dimensions—produce an unpleasing effect. But the work at Norwich was earlier, perhaps by thirty years, than either of the others. It is very difficult to obtain exact and authoritative measurements; but those usually given supply the following comparison:—Norwich, 14 bays; length of nave, 250 feet: Peterborough, 11 bays; length of nave, 228 feet: Ely, 12 bays; length of nave, 208 feet. From this it will be seen that before the tower fell the naves of Ely and Peterborough were almost exactly of the same length, while the former had two more bays than the latter.

The piers are of alternate design. In front of each an inner shaft runs up to the roof. The string-course above the main arcade has the billet moulding. All the attached shafts in all three stages have cushion capitals. Under each of the large triforium arches are two smaller ones. Though it has been said that there is no trace of any change of style throughout the entire nave, yet it has been noticed that there is a certain roughness about the execution of the arches towards the east which is not seen further west. The floors of the nave and its aisles are on one level; but till recently the floors of the aisles were a few inches lower, and this is believed to have been the original arrangement. The clerestory range has three arches, the central being the highest.



The western half of the ceiling was painted by Mr. Styleman le Strange, of Hunstanton Hall, in Norfolk, between 1858 and 1861. He died in 1862. The eastern half was then undertaken by Mr. Gambler Parry, of Highnam Court, near Gloucester; and the main design of Mr. le Strange was carried to a most successful issue. The original idea had been that a Jesse tree should commence at the seventh bay, and the arrangement of the subjects towards the west was meant to lead up to this. But Mr. le Strange himself, as the work proceeded, realised that a grander effect would be produced by introducing larger scriptural subjects towards the east; and Mr. Gambier Parry accordingly acted upon what was known to be the intention of the original designer. It has been many times said that the whole design was suggested by the painted ceiling at Hildesheim, and some words of Sir G. G. Scott have been quoted as proof of this; but Dean Goodwin says that the scheme was not taken in any way from the foreign example, and that Mr. le Strange had not seen the Hildesheim ceiling when his design was formed.[2] It is worth noting that some of the faces of the prophets are portraits; that of Isaiah, for instance, is a portrait of Dean Peacock. The general tone of the colouring is intentionally subdued, and the effect of this is said to be to increase the apparent height of the nave.

The twelve subjects along the central portion of the ceiling, commencing at the west, are these: (1) The Creation, (2) The Fall, (3) The Sacrifice of Noah, (4) The Sacrifice of Isaac, (5) Jacob's Dream, (6) The Marriage of Ruth, (7) Jesse, (8) David, (9) The Annunciation, (10) The Nativity, (11) The Adoration of the Shepherds and of the Magi, (12) The Lord in Glory.[3]

On the inner slope on each side of the central line for the ten western bays are figures of patriarchs and prophets, each with a scroll bearing some of his own words, all having prophetic reference to the Messiah. On the outer slope on each side are heads in circular medallions, three in each bay. "The heads forming the border represent the human ancestors of our Lord, according to the genealogy in S. Luke's Gospel; they commence at the eastern end and terminate at the western, thus linking together the Glorified Manhood, as exhibited in the last of the pictorial representations, with the Creation of Man in the first."[4]

The sloping sides of the ceiling follow the course of the great beams supporting the roof. Till it was resolved to construct this ceiling the beams were exposed, and the whole was open to the leads. Canon Stewart speaks of it as a "remarkable example of a trussed rafter roof of seven cants," and says that such a roof was sometimes called a compass roof. He thinks it might have taken the place of an original roof of the thirteenth century.



The Nave Aisles.—These retain their groined roofs. Some remains of coloured decoration may be seen in various places, especially in the south aisle; and the appearance of more elaborate colouring at one place seems to indicate that there was a side altar beneath. The rood-screen in the nave was by the pier in which is a small canopied niche. In the north aisle, beneath the windows, is an arcade of round-headed lancets, four in each bay. Above the arcade was originally a string of chevron moulding running along the whole length of the aisle; but this has been hacked off, except beneath the most eastern window. In the south aisle there are five such lancets in each bay west of the prior's door, and four in each bay beyond. The windows east of this door are higher in the wall than the others, because of the cloister, and the wall arcade is correspondingly more lofty. The chevron moulding remains in this aisle for seven bays, after which (until the last bay but one) the marks of it are clearly to be seen. One of the windows in the south aisle is original; all the rest, except one, have been recently made like it. In the north aisle all the windows are of the Perpendicular period, and have three lights under ogee arches. All are filled with stained glass.



In the south aisle is placed an ancient memorial stone of the greatest interest. It consists of the square base and part of the shaft of a cross. It was brought here from Haddenham, where it had been used as a horse-block, by Mr. Bentham. On the base is this inscription:

LVCEM TVAM OVINO DA DEVS ET REQVIE(M) AMEN.

Ovin has been named in the account of the foundress as being her chief agent, to whom was entrusted the civil government of her territory. There is every reason to believe that this cross was erected either by him or to his memory; and if so it must be twelve centuries old.

Just west of the monks' door is the entrance to the recently constructed vestry for the choir-boys. This is thought to have been originally the entrance to the cloister library or bookcase.

The Octagon.—Few visitors will perhaps be disposed to examine any of the objects of interest in the cathedral before an inspection of the beauties of this magnificent erection, the first sight of which, from one of the smaller arches towards the aisles, is a thing never to be forgotten. There is not one of the many able artists and architects who have written about the octagon that has not spoken of it as being without rival in the whole world; and the admiration that was expressed fifty and more years ago would have been far greater, and the enthusiasm more profound, had the writers seen it in its present state of perfect restoration. No description can do adequate justice to the grandeur of the conception or to the brilliancy of the execution of this renowned work.

The four great arches rise to the full height of the roof; that to the east, indeed, is higher than the vaulted roof of the choir and presbytery, the intervening space being occupied with tracery of wood-work on painted boards, the Saviour on the Cross being painted in the middle. The wooden vaulting of the octagon springs from capitals on the same level as those of the great arches. The four small arches to the aisles are of course no higher than the roofs of the aisles: above these, on each side, are three figures of apostles, under canopies with crockets. The figures are seated, and each holds an emblem, by which it can be seen for whom the figure is intended. It may be noticed (in the central figure on the south-west side) that S. Paul, not S. Matthias, is put in the place of Iscariot. The hood-moulds of the arches are terminated by heads, of which six are portraits. King Edward III. and Queen Philippa are at the north-east, Bishop Hotham and Prior Crauden at the south-east, Walsingham and his master mason (so it is believed) at the north-west; those to the south-west are mere grotesques. Above the seated figures on each side is a window of four broad lights, filled with stained glass. The eight chief vaulting shafts rise from the ground as slight triple shafts; they support, a little above the spring of the side arches, large corbels, which form bases for exquisitely designed niches, and through these spring more shafts reaching to the vault. On each of the corbels is a boldly carved scene from the career of S. Etheldreda; they commence at the north-west arch. The subjects (two to each arch) are as follows:

NORTH-WEST ARCH.—S. Etheldreda's second marriage. Her taking the veil at Coldingham.

NORTH-EAST ARCH.—Her staff taking root. Her preservation in the flood at S. Abb's Head.

SOUTH-EAST ARCH.—Her installation as Abbess of Ely, Her death and burial (two scenes).

SOUTH-WEST ARCH.—One of her miracles. Her translation.

All these incidents have been sufficiently explained in the chapter on the history of the building, with the exception of the seventh. The authority for this is the "Liber Eliensis." A man named Brytstan,[5] being ill, had vowed that if he were restored to health he would become a monk. Upon his taking steps to carry out this intention he was charged with seeking refuge in a monastery simply to escape the consequences of robberies of which he had been guilty in his business. After trial at Huntingdon he was condemned and put in chains in prison in London. After continuous prayers for the intercession of S. Etheldreda and S. Benedict, these two saints appeared to him, and the latter drew the links of the chain apart and set the prisoner free. The miracle came to the knowledge of Matilda, Henry I.'s queen, and investigations followed, which resulted in the release of Brytstan, and he was conducted to Ely with manifestations of joy. Some have thought that the ribands still to be bought at the stalls at the annual fair, and known as "S. Audrey's laces," are a reminiscence of this legend, and that they represent the chains from which Brytstan was delivered. But the more probable explanation is that they refer to the disease that afflicted S. Etheldreda, a swelling in the neck, which she held to be a fit punishment for the vanity of her youthful days, when she was fond of wearing necklaces and jewels. "Saint Audrey's laces" became corrupted into "Tawdry laces"; and so the adjective has been applied to all cheap and showy pieces of female ornament.

Special attention may be given to some points in the sculpture of these corbels, every one of which is worthy of careful study. In (1) notice the figure of Ovin, previously named as the steward, bearing an official staff, or perhaps a sword. In (2) the surrender of royal dignity is signified by the crown placed on the altar. In (3) the leaf-bearing staff has an abundance of conventional foliage. In (5) Wilfrid bears a simple pastoral staff, and not an archbishop's cross, as in previous scenes—a point to which Dean Stubbs calls attention as indicating the historical accuracy of the designer, because in former scenes the archbishop is represented in his own diocese, while here he is a simple bishop in banishment. In (6) there is a dignified figure—probably S. Sexburga—standing behind the priest who is ministering to the dying abbess. In (7) the kneeling figure is S. Benedict handling the fetters.

Until the plain colour-wash with which the vault had been covered was removed in 1850 there was no knowledge of what had been the character of the original decoration. Traces of colouring were then discovered, and in some places geometrical designs, but there was no evidence of anything very elaborate. The whole of the present decoration forms accordingly an entirely new design; it is by Mr. Gambier Parry, who himself painted the principal figures. The central boss of the lantern is carved in oak, and is original; only its painting is new. All the remaining figures are wholly new. Groups of seraphim, bands of heavenly minstrels bearing all kinds of ancient musical instruments, monograms, and sacred emblems, all combine to give a rich variety.



The Transepts.—The architectural student will find the transepts of the greatest interest; as in them is to be seen the earliest work in the cathedral. They are similar in general character to those at Winchester, which were built by Abbot Simeon's brother. The transepts at Winchester were ready for consecration in 1093, and this was seven years before Simeon came to Ely. The triforium is probably only in part Simeon's work; and the clerestory was almost certainly added by his successor. Both transepts have aisles, but in the south transept the western aisle is walled off. Along the western wall in the north transept is a stone bench. The square capitals of the piers here have indentations at the corners, and this is an early example of such indentation. Some slight ornamentation may be noticed in the cushions of the capitals, especially in the south transept, where there are traces of ancient colouring. The three chapels to the east of the north transept are divided by walls, and two have wooden screens. One of these has been restored by Professor Stanton for use as a chapel for early celebrations and for private devotion. Some early paintings on the vaulted roof, representing the martyrdom of S. Edmund, are sufficient to justify this being called S. Edmund's chapel. It is probable that this was the Chantry on the Green (so called from the place of residence of the four chaplains) founded by Bishop Northwold. The screen in front of this chapel is exceedingly light and graceful; it dates from about 1350. At one time it is said to have been in the south transept, and afterwards where it now stands; it was removed in 1865, but is now replaced. In the south transept the whole of the eastern aisle is walled off for the library. In the plan in Bentham's History, 1770, only the single bay to the south is marked as the library. The walls of partition between the chapels were taken down in 1814. The western aisle has always been separated by a low wall of Norman date, possibly a little later than the adjacent piers; this wall has an intersecting arcade of round arches, with a string of chevrons above. This aisle is used as a vestry. Within is the ancient Norman vaulting; and there are some good original windows, which cannot be seen from without except from the Deanery gardens. From the devices on the late Perpendicular door it is clear that it belonged to some church erected by Bishop Alcock; it was only brought here from Landbeach about fifty years ago.



The triforium and clerestory ranges are almost identical with those in the nave. In the south transept the western windows of the triforium have been altered into three-light Perpendicular windows. The roofs of both transepts have been raised, but it is not known at what time. At the north end are two large windows of good Perpendicular character; at the south is a single window of seven lights, of very singular design. At the ends of the transepts are two original galleries, level with the triforium, supported on round-headed arches. On the north are five arches, not of equal height, the two most lofty of which reach nearly to the triforium level. On the south are six much lower arches, and above them is a blank arcade of intersecting arches. In the floor of the south transept are laid some very remarkable ancient tiles.



The Choir and Presbytery—A beautiful screen of oak, with brass gates, designed by Scott, divides the choir from the octagon. It is of early geometric character; and if there had been an original screen of this design it would have been intermediate in date between the presbytery and the choir. The tracery is very graceful. A rich cresting runs along the top, cut through by the gable over the gates, which bears a terminal cross. On both sides the small niches have statuettes.



The choir, of three bays, is the work of Bishop Hotham. The last six bays are the work of Bishop Northwold, and form the presbytery. In the present arrangement seven of these nine bays form the ritual choir, and two form the retro-choir. The difference in date between the presbytery and choir may be roughly taken as very nearly a hundred years. The former had been begun in 1240; the latter was nearly finished in 1340. In the juxtaposition of these two magnificent specimens of the Early English and Decorated periods of architecture there is an opportunity of comparison which on such a scale occurs nowhere else. It is to be remembered that in neither case is the treatment of the upper part quite in accordance with the usual practice of the period. When the presbytery was being built there were still standing east of the central tower the four original bays of the Norman choir. These, it may be assumed, were very similar in character to those in the nave. There would, beyond question, have been in each bay large triforium arches, each with a couple of subordinate arches; and a single window in the clerestory with a blank arch on each side. Bishop Northwold's work was purposely made to correspond with these bays as far as Early English work could do so; and when after the fall of the tower it became necessary to rebuild the choir, Bishop Hotham in like manner made his Decorated work correspond with the Early English presbytery. The choir is, as would be expected, richer in detail as well as more elaborate in design; and it would be difficult to find in England anything to surpass the tracery of the clerestory windows and triforium arches, the beautiful cusped inner arches of the clerestory range, the open parapets at the base of the two stages, or the long corbels, covered with foliage, that support the vaulting shafts. In the choir the clerestory windows have four lights each; in the presbytery are triplets. The old colouring has been renewed throughout. On the north side of the choir the three bays are precisely alike; but on the south there is a variation in the tracery of the western triforium arch. There are also shields of arms (of the See of Ely and of Bishop Hotham) in the spandrels of the triforium and arch below; and the shaft between this arch and the next is enlarged at the top into a base for a statue (probably of S. Etheldreda); while level with the string above is a very fine large canopy (called by the work-men "the table"), which is like nothing else in the cathedral. The clerestory windows also on the south have different tracery.



The difference between the two styles of architecture is well marked in the groining of the roof, the Decorated portion being much more elaborate. Some of the bosses are very remarkable: one has S. Etheldreda with pastoral staff; one has the coronation of the Virgin Mary; one has the foundress bearing the model of a church, in which (as Dean Stubbs has pointed out) both arms of the western transept are represented, so that it is a fair inference that at the time this roof was constructed the whole of the western transept was standing.



Between the choir and presbytery there rise the massive Norman piers built as the entrance to the apse; and these are the only remains of the Norman church east of the octagon. Since the careful examination of the foundations here, made by Professor Willis in 1850, it is not thought certain that the apse was actually built. The foundations of the apse were very manifest, and the design did not include a passage round it; but there was also clear evidence that the apsidal foundation was altered into a straight wall of the same thickness, and the probability is that before the apse was built "it was resolved to convert it into a square-ended presbytery, such as we now see at Oxford Cathedral and St. Cross."[6]



The two most western triforium arches in the presbytery are glazed, the roof of the triforium itself being wholly removed. The object of this alteration has been fully explained in the account of the exterior of the cathedral. On the ground beneath were the shrines; and under one of the arches was erected, not long afterwards, the monument of Bishop Barnet, in whose time and at whose expense the alteration was made.

The arrangement of the lancets at the east end is even more effective within than without. The east end of Ely, says Professor Freeman, "is the grandest example of the grouping of lancets.... Ely is also undoubtedly the head of all east ends and eastern limbs of that class in which the main body of the church is of the same height throughout, and in which the aisles are brought out to the full length of the building."[7]

It will hardly be believed that the magnificent stalls which were formerly ranged in the octagon, and at a later period in the presbytery, were once painted all over with a mahogany colour. They are the finest Decorated stalls in England, the beautiful ones at Winchester being of late thirteenth-century date. The carved panels in the upper parts are new, and are the gifts of individual donors. They were executed in Belgium. It is not known how these spaces were originally filled; Mr. le Strange thought possibly with heraldic devices. The designs on the south are from the New Testament, those on the north from the Old Testament The seats in the lower range are also modern, as are the various statuettes at the Stall ends, which represent the builders of the most important parts of the fabric. On the misereres of the ancient stalls are some wonderful grotesque carvings. The brass eagle lectern has been copied, as to its main features, from an ancient example at Isleham. The organ is in the triforium, on the north, and part of the case projects over the easternmost arch of the choir.

The reredos is the first example in modern cathedral work of the elaborate style of decoration for the most holy part of the sanctuary, which is now not uncommon. It was the gift of Mr. John Dunn Gardner, of Chatteris, and was designed by Scott. It forms the central portion of a screen of stone which extends for the whole width of the presbytery. The lower part of the whole is of deeply cut diaper-work; the upper part has an open arcade of six arches, each with a mullion and tracery in the early Decorated style. The reredos itself is of alabaster, and consists of five main arches under canopies, and with tracery, and is ornamented with a rich abundance of mosaic work, panels, medallions, statuettes, twisted columns, and various kinds of carving. Five scenes from the last days of our Lord's life on earth are carved in relief under canopies beneath the chief arches. A full description, giving all the details of the sculpture, and the materials of the mosaic, and the different persons and emblematic graces represented by the busts and figures, would require more space than we can give. The altar cross, of silver gilt, is in memory of Bishop Woodford.



The Lady-chapel.—Notwithstanding the cruel mutilation of the sculpture all round this chapel, it can be seen that for perfection of exquisite work there is no building of the size in this country worthy for one moment to be compared with this in its unmutilated state. Its single defect strikes the beholder at once: the span of the roof is too broad and the vaulting too depressed for the size of the chapel. The windows, of which those on the north have been restored, have already been described. The end windows, which are of great size, are of later date; that to the east has a look of Transition work about it. The building was finished in 1349, and the east window was inserted by Bishop Barnet, circa 1373. For a possible explanation of the insertion of this window, only a quarter of a century after the completion of the chapel, see ante, p. 52. It is not thought probable that the original designers left anything incomplete. The great beauty of the interior consists in the series of tabernacle work and canopies that runs round all the four sides below and between the windows. The heads of the canopies project. In the tracery beneath, at the head of the mullion, was a statue. The delicate carving of the cusps and other tracery is varied throughout. On the spandrels were incidents connected with the history of the Virgin Mary (mainly legendary) and of Julian the Apostate; and though in no single instance is a perfect uninjured specimen left, yet enough remains, in all but a few cases, for the original subjects to be identified.[8] All was once enriched with colour, and many traces remain; and in various parts of the windows there are fragments of stained glass. Most of the monumental tablets which once disfigured the arcade below the windows have been happily removed into the vestibule. The arches and canopies at the east end are arranged differently from those on the sides. In the roof, which reminds us of the contemporary roof in the choir, are some carved bosses, not large, but singularly good. Among the subjects can be recognised a Crucifixion, with half-figures beside the cross; Adam and Eve; the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth, holding between them a book inscribed "Magnificat"; the Annunciation, with "Ave Maria Gracia plena"; the Ascension, indicated by the skirt and feet of the Saviour and five heads of apostles; the coronation of the Virgin; and the Virgin in an aureole.



The arrangements for worship present an appearance very unlike those of sixty years ago. A writer in 1876, writing of his early recollections, says: "When I first knew Ely the state of the lady-chapel—then, as now, used as a parish church—was so miserable from decay, violence, and neglect, that it was simply painful to enter it." ... Now, "well-designed benches have replaced the mean deal square pews, the whitewash and yellow-wash which thickly clogged the carving has been removed, the windows have been repaired and made water-tight, and the altar and its adjuncts made to assume an air of reverent dignity."

We do not remember to have anywhere seen an explanation of the fact that this chapel is now used as the parish church of Holy Trinity parish; whereas the old church, the destruction of which occasioned the appropriation of the lady-chapel to parochial use, was dedicated to S. Cross.

Monuments And Stained Glass—It is convenient to treat the monuments as a separate subject, so as not to break the continuity of the architectural description. We will commence at the west, proceeding along the north aisle, and so round the cathedral, pointing out those that have anything of special interest.

Against the blocked doorway which gave access to the church of S. Cross is placed an altar-tomb to the late Bishop Woodford (see below, p. 129). The figure of the bishop is vested in cope and mitre, and has a pastoral staff. The Crucifixion is on the wall at the back. There are several shields of arms relating to the bishop's career or to the cathedral history: among these are those of the Merchant Taylors' Company, at whose school he was educated; Pembroke College, Cambridge, of which he was a member; and of other colleges at Cambridge founded by bishops of Ely. Three tablets in this north aisle, near the transept, record donations towards the re-paving of the nave and aisles in 1676, 1869, and 1873.

There is no monumental memorial in the nave. But the large slab of marble in the centre, just in front of the position of the old rood-loft, which has been already referred to as traditionally marking the grave of Alan de Walsingham, should be noticed.

Under the four arches of the presbytery on the north, between the stalls and the altar, are monuments of great importance. First we see that of Bishop Redman (d. 1505), a very fine specimen of enriched Perpendicular work. The mitred figure of the bishop is on an altar-tomb beneath a richly groined roof, and a space is left at the feet, where a priest might stand to pray for the soul of the deceased prelate.[9] There are grand canopies on the sides, with crockets and coloured shields bearing emblems of the Crucifixion, the arms of the See of Ely and of S. Asaph, where Bishop Redman was at first; but the arms of the See of Exeter, from which diocese he came to Ely, as now used, are not to be seen. Above the roof is fine open screen-work, and against the adjoining piers, east and west, are large canopied niches.

Next to this is the effigy of Bishop Kilkenny (d. 1256), a fine example of Early English. The figure has cope, mitre, and staff. The bishop's heart only was buried here.



In the next arch is a large Decorated structure of two stories, believed by Scott to have been built by Walsingham as the base for the shrine of S. Etheldreda. It was formerly known as Bishop Hotham's shrine, and his effigy was placed beneath it. The lower story is open.

In the arch north of the altar is the tomb of the builder of the presbytery, Bishop Northwold (d. 1254). He is represented in full vestments. At the east of the tomb is a curious carving, apparently meant for the martyrdom of S. Edmund. A king naked above the middle, except for his kingly crown, is tied to a tree and pierced by arrows; archers with drawn bows are behind; at one end the king has his head, still crowned, in his hands, with a figure bearing a sword over him; at the other side is either the wolf of the legend or an evil spirit in animal shape.

In the aisle itself are several memorials, mostly of the eighteenth century, that call for no special mention. The latest is the brass to Mr. Basevi, 1845.

At the east end of the aisle is the Chapel Of Bishop Alcock (d. 1500). The date, 1488, is fixed precisely by the inscribed stone now placed in the wall above a small stone altar. The stone in the wall has five crosses, as though intended for a chantry altar, but the slab of the altar beneath has no crosses. The inscription is, "Iohanes Alkoc epus Eliesis hanc fabricam fieri fecit M cccc iiij(xx) viij." The sides of the chapel are covered with niches, canopies, crockets, panels, and devices. The roof has fan tracery with a massive pendant. A singular little chantry is at the north, access to which is through a door at the foot of the bishop's tomb. In a small window here is a little contemporary stained glass. The bishop's rebus—a cock on a globe—repeatedly occurs in the stone-work. The ornamentation strikes the spectator as being excessive and too profuse. No figures have been replaced in the niches.

In the retro-choir a mosaic slab over the remains of Bishop Allen (d. 1845) has a curious history. A son of the bishop was passing through Paris soon after Napoleon's tomb was finished, and the surplus materials were offered for sale by auction. Some of these were purchased by Mr. Allen and utilised for the slab over the bishop's grave. The large monument to Canon Mill (d. 1853) has an effigy in copper on a support of marble and alabaster; students of India and Cambridge are by the feet.

The tomb of Cardinal Luxemburg (d. 1443) is beneath the most eastern arch on the south, just north of Bishop West's chapel. When the monument was concealed behind some wood-work great dispute arose as to the headdress of the effigy. Bentham has an engraving with a cardinal's hat on the archbishop's head. Cole records that it was a mitre. When the wood-work was removed it was found that the figure was headless, as it still remains.



Corresponding to the chapel of Bishop Alcock on the north is that of Bishop West (d. 1533) in the south aisle. This is a most valuable example of the Renaissance style. The niches and canopies with which the walls are covered are much smaller than those in the other chapel, and consequently more numerous; but by reason of the great delicacy of the tracery and the wonderful variety of the designs there is no impression that the decoration is overdone. No perfect specimen is left of the statues or of the heads which were introduced in the tabernacle work; and in its complete state this exquisite work can have existed for not more, than twelve or thirteen years, as the Order in Council for removing images was made in 1548. The roof is curious, as being an adaptation in the Renaissance of the late Gothic fan tracery Some colouring remains. The wrought-iron gates, with motto in Latin several times repeated, and the curious little pendants from the roof, consisting of angels bearing shields of arms, should be noticed. Bishops Greene (d. 1738), Keene (d. 1781), Sparke (d. 1836), and Woodford (d. 1885) are all buried in this chapel. On the south side, within a shrine-like receptacle, have been placed the relics of seven early benefactors of the church. Originally buried in the Saxon church, they have been several limes removed. They were placed here in 1771. The names are carved in seven shallow niches. One was an archbishop, five were bishops, and the seventh was Alderman Brithnoth. The dates range from 991 to 1067.

The very interesting early Norman monumental slab, with carving in relief, preserved in the aisle, does not strictly belong to the cathedral, having been found at S. Mary's Church. Above a round-headed canopy are some Norman buildings; in the chamfer of the canopy is an invocation of the Archangel Michael, a figure of whom below has wings and nimbus, and in the robe a portion of a naked figure with pastoral staff beside it.



Proceeding westward, the monuments under the windows are those of Canon Selwyn (d. 1875), Bishop Gunning (d. 1684), wearing a mitre, with long hair and short beard, and Bishop Heton (d. 1609), in a cope and having an ample beard. Under the arches of the presbytery, after the huge tablet to Bishop Moore (d. 1714), are four monuments. The first is all that is left of the tomb of Bishop Hotham (d. 1337). The next has figures of John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, K.G., and his two wives. The earl was beheaded in 1470, and is not interred here. One of the wives was Cecily Neville, sister of Richard, Earl of Warwick, the King-maker.

Of the tomb of Bishop Barnet (d. 1373) the base only remains. It resembles in general character the monument of Bishop Northwold.



Under the last arch of the presbytery is the fine monument of Bishop Louth (d. 1298). It is a very beautiful early Decorated composition.

Two brasses remain in the floor of the south aisle, both of great interest. The famous brass of Bishop Goodrich (d. 1554) represents him in full vestments (wearing a chasuble, not a cope), with mitre and pastoral staff (see below, p. 124). This is specially noteworthy as he was an enthusiastic supporter of the Reformation changes and is believed to have encouraged, if he did not order the wholesale destruction of statues and other ornamentation of the cathedral. He was Lord Chancellor for three years, and the Great Seal is figured on the brass. Dean Tyndall (d. 1614) is represented in a very different style. He is figured in academical dress, wearing a ruff and a skull-cap, and with a long beard. On one of the shields of arms may be seen the arms of the Deanery impaling Tyndall.

Very many other tablets and inscriptions remain; but we have no space for a more extended treatment of the subject. In the south transept is a tablet to Dean Merivale (d. 1894), with a likeness in slight relief; and mention of this gives opportunity for saying that the very greatest care seems to have been taken to secure good likenesses in the most recent monuments, those of three, as to which the writer can speak from personal knowledge—Bishop Woodford, Dean Merivale, and Canon Selwyn—being of conspicuous merit.

It would require a book to itself to treat exhaustively of the stained glass in the windows. In nearly all cases, certainly in those which can be examined without the aid of a glass, the names of the donors, or of the persons to whose memory the windows were inserted, are plainly set forth either in the windows or on brass tablets adjoining. It should be stated that the greatest encouragement to this form of decoration was given by Canon E. B. Sparke, who secured, partly by his influence and persuasion, and largely by his own munificence, the insertion of so many windows. It is true that in the first instance not a few were prepared in too great a hurry, and some of those first placed in the restored cathedral (as those in the octagon) have been at a later time condemned as being deficient in harmony of colouring and in artistic design; but there is little fault to be found with the most recent additions. Among so many it is inevitable that very different degrees of merit will be exhibited. It has been said that the entire series is an exemplification of the Horatian maxim, "Sunt bona, sunt quaedam mediocria, sunt mala plura"; and, except that we should be disposed to exchange the position of the words "quaedam" and "plura" (if the metre allowed it), with this sentiment we agree.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Quite recently further security has been attained by a system of iron bracing, not visible from beneath.

[2] "Ely Gossip," p. 39.

[3] When Murray's "Eastern Cathedrals" was published, Mr. Gambier Parry's work had not been begun; and by comparing the above list with the list there given as the proposed series of sacred subjects for the last six bays of the ceiling, it will be seen that the last three subjects are not the same as at first intended.

[4] From the key to the ceiling by Dean Stubbs, in "Handbook," 20th ed., pp. 60, 61.

[5] Admirable and exhaustive descriptions of these pieces of sculpture, with sketches of six of them, are given in Dean Stubbs' "Historical Memorials of Ely Cathedral," pp. 71-84. The account in the text of the miracle on the seventh corbel is condensed from this description.

[6] Canon Stewart, in The Builder, April 2nd, 1892.

[7] Introduction to Farren's "Cathedral Cities of Ely and Norwich."

[8] For a full account and list of all the subjects as far as is known, see Dean Stubbs' catalogue of them, abridged from Dr. Montagu James' work on the iconography of the lady-chapel, given in the "Handbook," 20th ed., pp. 127-132.

[9] In the inventory of plate, etc., "belonging to the late priory at Ely," made 31 Hen. VIII., printed in Bentham's "History" from the MS. in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, the only altars mentioned are the high altar, those in the lady-chapel, in the chapels of Bishops Alcock and West, and in "Byslope Redmannes Chaple."



CHAPTER IV.

HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY.

All that need be said of the original establishment at Ely has already been told in the account of the foundress. There is no doubt that in the monastery there were religious persons of both sexes. Dean Stubbs says "the mixed community was the fashion of the time"[1] and he gives Coldingham, Kildare, and three in Normandy—Chelles, Autun Brie, and Fontevrault—as examples of similar foundations. In this instance the abbess was the head of all; and this accounts for Bede's calling the house a nunnery. What name was given to the superior of the men's part does not appear.

Of all the abbesses who ruled over this "twin monastery" we know only the names of the first four; and all these were in due time canonised. These were S. Etheldreda (673-679), S. Sexburga (679-699), S. Ermenilda (699-?), and S. Werburga (dates unknown). If we allow ten years for the duration of the rule of the last two, we still have the names of the abbesses for only thirty-six years out of the one hundred and ninety-seven years that the institution lasted. It is said to have been in a very flourishing condition when the Danes came to destroy it; and there is no hint anywhere that there was not a continuous succession of abbesses during the whole period.

S. Sexburga, the elder sister of the foundress, succeeded her as abbess. She was the widowed queen of Ercombert, King of Kent, and had herself founded the monastery of Sheppey, at the place now known as Minster, and set over it her daughter Ermenilda, another widowed queen. S. Sexburga joined the house at Ely, and had resided there some time before her sister's death. The body of S. Etheldreda was in her time removed into the church, under the superintendence of Archbishop Wilfrid. Bede gives a full account of the translation. The monks who had the charge of providing a stone coffin suitable for the reception of the remains of the foundress are said to have "found" one of marble among the ruins of Grantchester, the name of the old town of Cambridge. When disinterred, the body was reported free from all corruption. The account would not be complete without the customary miracles—marvellous cures effected by touching the clothes and coffin, and by the healing efficacy of a spring that flowed from the place of the first interment. This translation took place on October 17th, 695. This is the day assigned to the commemoration of S. Etheldreda. The importance of this festival is sometimes held to account for the fact that the Feast of S. Luke, on October 18th, is not preceded by a fast. But as no fast is assigned to the vigils of the Conversion of S. Paul, S. Mark, or Saints Philip and James, it is questionable if this opinion is sound. Upon the death of S. Sexburga, in 699, her body was laid in the church next to that of her sister.

The next abbess was her daughter, S. Ermenilda. Her husband had been Wulphere, King of Mercia, who died in 675. She had been professed at Ely, and left to become the head of her mother's foundation at Sheppey. The date of her death is not known. She was succeeded, both at Sheppey and at Ely, by her daughter, S. Werburga. How long she ruled at Ely is not recorded. She was buried by her own desire at Hanbury, in Staffordshire. When the Danes reached Derbyshire in their incursions, this was deemed no longer a safe place, and her body was removed to Chester, where the cathedral was afterwards placed under the joint invocation of S. Werburga and S. Oswald.[2] The reason why it is suggested above that ten years may be taken as the limit of time to be assigned to the rules of S. Ermenilda and S. Werburga is that the author of her Life[3] says that her body was taken up "9 years after her decease, to translate it to a more eminent part" of Hanbury Church, by order of Ceolred, King of Mercia. As this king died at latest in 717, it would follow that S. Werburga must have died not later than 708.

Probably in the Isle of Ely more special respect was paid to the festivals of these four sainted abbesses than elsewhere. But we find no churches dedicated to any of the four in the isle except those previously named as dedicated to S. Etheldreda, the cathedral, Histon, and a chapel at Swaffham Prior. Minster Church, in Kent, is dedicated to Saints Mary and Sexburga. In a tenth-century will of the widowed queen of Edmund I. we read: "I give to S. Peter's, and to S. AEtheldryth, and to S. Wihtburh, and to S. Sexburh, and to S. Eormenhild at Ely where my lord's body rests, the three lands which we both promised to God and His saint."[4] There were no doubt side-altars erected in honour of one or more of the four. At Wisbech, for instance, there was a "light" of S. Etheldreda, to which we find persons bequeathing small sums.

Of the monastery of S. Etheldreda and that of Bishop Ethelwold, Professor Freeman writes that there is "no continuity between the two."[5] By this we must probably understand that he considered the original monastery absolutely at an end after its destruction by the Danes; and that the monastery founded in its place a century later was something quite new, that had no claim to be regarded as the continuation of the former one. But the history of the place during the interval was not an absolute blank.

The Danish destruction took place in 870. The reconstruction by King Edgar and Bishop Ethelwold took place in 970. In the monastery so founded, or, as most would prefer to say, resuscitated, there were no nuns. It has been pointed out that at Ely, unlike other religious houses in the district, there was not complete desolation during the century intervening between the destruction of the former and the construction of the latter house. Some clergy banded themselves together and formed a religious community, of what precise character is not known, but apparently it was something in the nature of a college of secular priests. When the second monastery arose, these clergy were either absorbed or evicted.

Brithnoth (970-981) was the first abbot. He had been Prior of Winchester. He devoted his energies to the consolidation of the new house, securing many fresh endowments, settling the boundaries of the Isle of Ely, and laying out the grounds of the abbey in beautiful order. The church possessed only the bodies of three of the four saints connected with the original foundation. There being no hope of recovering the fourth, Bishop Ethelwold and the abbot resolved to find a substitute in the body of S. Withburga, the youngest sister of S. Etheldreda. Her youth had been spent at Holkham, in Norfolk, where the church is now said to be dedicated to her, and afterwards founded a nunnery at Dereham, in the same county, where she died and was buried. A long account is given by Bentham[6] of the trickery by which her body was purloined and brought to Ely, where it was interred near the bodies of the three abbesses.[7] Brithnoth is said to have been murdered at the instigation of Queen Elfrida, having grievously offended her in many ways, especially by reproving her infamous and abandoned life. This is the same Elfrida who, two years before, had caused her stepson, King Edward (thence called the Martyr), to be assassinated in order that her own son, Ethelred (the Unready), might have the crown. Edward only reigned four years; but during that time much that his father, King Edgar, had done towards establishing the monastic rule in England was set aside. In some instances "the monastic rule was quashed, and minsters dissolved, and monks driven out, and God's servants put down, whom King Edgar had ordered the holy bishop Ethelwold to establish."[8] The queen confessed before her death to having compassed the death of Abbot Brithnoth. His body was conveyed to Ely for interment.

He was succeeded by Elsin (981-1016), "of a noble family." In his time very considerable donations and bequests were made to the monastery. In some cases members of the house who rose to eminence and obtained lucrative appointments became benefactors; sometimes the parents of young men who joined the society testified their confidence by munificent gifts; sometimes widows gave manors and lands in their lifetimes or in their wills. In one case at least much wealth was acquired by way of penance. Leofwin, a man of large possessions, in a violent fit of anger had occasioned the death of his own father. In his remorse he betook himself to Rome to obtain absolution, undertaking to perform any penance that might be enjoined. The pope required him to dedicate his eldest son to the religious life in some monastery which he was liberally to endow, and to bestow largely of his substance to the relief of the poor. His son Edelmor was accordingly devoted to the service of God at Ely, and very large estates were assigned by Leofwin to the monastery. He further improved the church, rebuilding and enlarging the south aisle, and joining it to the rest of the building; and in one of its porches, or side-chapels (in uno porticu), he built an altar to the Virgin Mary, erecting over it a stately image of gold and silver, adorned with valuable jewels. It is probably to this altar that reference is made when we find some speak as if there were a lady-chapel in existence before the present one. At Leofwin's death his body was buried in the church, and to it he bequeathed his entire property.

Alderman Brithnoth, a man of great rank and eminence, and of great reputation as a soldier, was another considerable benefactor. On one occasion he was marching with his forces from the north to encounter the Danes, who had been plundering in Suffolk and had reached Essex. Passing Ramsey Abbey, he sent word to the abbot that he proposed to stop there with his men for refreshment. But the abbot, though willing to entertain the alderman and a few select friends, declined the honour of providing for his troops. This did not suit Brithnoth, and he went on to Ely. There the whole company was hospitably entertained; and Brithnoth was so pleased that he on the next day made over to the monastery a number of manors into their immediate possession, and also assigned certain others, on condition that if he should be slain in battle his body should be buried at Ely. In the battle the English forces were outnumbered, and Brithnoth fell, the Danes taking his head away with them in their triumph. On hearing of his death, the abbot and some of the monks went to the scene of the engagement, recovered the body, and interred it with all honour in their church.

A great accession of dignity was granted by King Ethelred. While his brother, King Edward, was on the throne, Ethelred, with his mother, had visited the tomb of S. Etheldreda, and professed great admiration for her character and work. When Ethelred became king he granted to the churches of Ely, Canterbury, and Glastonbury the office of Chancellor of the King's Court, putting, as it were, the office in commission; so the abbot of each place, or his deputy, officiated as chancellor for periods of four months each. This privilege was only retained till the time of the Normans.

Elsin died in a good old age, "after a life of great sanctity and observance of the commandments of God, and after the acquisition of much honour and great possessions to the church." His death took place, according to the "Liber Eliensis," in King Ethelred's time—that is, not later than 1016. Wharton gives 1019 as the date. Possibly the unsettled state of the kingdom may have caused the abbey to be vacant for three years.

At the Battle of Assendun, 1016, some of the monks of Ely, as well as Ednod, Bishop of Dorchester, and the Abbot of Ramsey, were slain. The Ely monks took with them to the camp the relics of S. Wendreda, which were there lost and never recovered. Canute is thought to have acquired them, and to have bestowed them upon the Church of Canterbury. The body of Bishop Ednod was brought to Ely, with the intention of taking it on to Ramsey, where he had been abbot, for interment. But when the body arrived at Ely it was buried privately by night in the church.

Of Leofwin, called also Oschitel (1019?-1022), who is given in the lists as the third abbot, nothing whatever is known, except that he was deposed by the monks, and reinstated, after a journey to Rome, by the pope.

His successor, Leofric (1022-1029), who had been prior, is remembered only as being abbot when Archbishop Wulstan of York and Bishop Alfwin of Elmham were buried at Ely, and when divers possessions were acquired by gift or bequest of a certain Countess Godiva.

Leofsin (1029-1045), like his predecessor, was appointed by King Canute. Canute was much in the eastern counties; and he is said to have made a point, when possible, of keeping the Feast of the Purification at Ely, that being the date on which the abbot's turn as chancellor commenced. It was on one of these occasions, while coming by water with his queen and nobles, that the remarkable incident occurred of his hearing the monks singing in the distance, and breaking out himself into verse. Four lines of his song have been preserved.[9] The Latin of them, as given in the "Liber Eliensis," runs thus:

"Dulce cantaverunt monachi in Ely Dum Canutus rex navigaret prope ibi, Nunc milites navigate propius ad terram, Et simul audiamus monachorum harmoniam."

The incident has attracted many writers, and not a few poems have been written upon it. Wordsworth's sonnet on the subject commences:

"A pleasant music floats along the mere. From monks in Ely chanting service high, While as Canute the king is rowing by: 'My oarsmen,' quoth the mighty king, 'draw near, That we the sweet song of the monks may hear.'"

And in a ballad upon Chelsea, a quarter of New York where the General Theological Seminary of the American church is situated, a poet of that communion has these verses:

"When old Canute the Dane Was merry England's king, A thousand years agone, and more, As ancient rymours sing, His boat was rowing down the Ouse, At eve, one summer day, Where Ely's tall cathedral peered Above the glassy way. Anon, sweet music on his ear, Comes floating from the fane, And listening, as with all his soul Sat old Canute the Dane; And reverent did he doff his crown, To join the clerkly prayer, While swelled old lauds and litanies Upon the stilly air."[10]

Ely minster was, however, not a cathedral in Canute's time; and it is a strange poetical licence that can describe an evening just before the Feast of the Purification as a "summer day."

Perhaps the greatest distinction belonging to the monastery at this period was the honour of having educated King Edward the Confessor. He had been brought here in his infancy and offered by his parents on the altar; "and it was a constant tradition with the Monks that he used to take great delight in learning to sing Psalms and godly Hymns, among the children of his own age, in the Cloister, on which account he always retained a favourable regard to the place, after he became King."[11] In 1036, the year after Canute's death, Edward and his brother Alfred came over from Normandy to England, ostensibly to visit their mother, Queen Emma, who lived at Winchester, but really to ascertain the feeling of the nation with regard to the succession to the throne. Alfred fell into the hands of Earl Godwin, by whose orders he was deprived of his eyes and committed to the custody of the monks of Ely. He lived a very short time after this cruel treatment, and died and was buried at Ely.

Abbot Wilfric (1045-1065) came from Winchester. He was a kinsman of Edward the Confessor. Through this relationship, as well as from personal connection with the place, the king greatly favoured the abbey. He granted a confirmatory charter himself, and obtained a bull from the pope confirming all the rights and privileges of the church. But several of the possessions of the abbey were lost in Wilfric's time. In one instance the High Constable of England seized a village belonging to the monks. Proceedings were taken against him and sentence pronounced; but he evaded even the king's orders, and at last actually secured the possession of the village for his own life, after which it was to revert to the true owners. After the Conquest, however, all the lands of this nobleman were seized by the Conqueror, this village among the rest; nor could the Church of Ely ever regain it. In another instance Abbot Wilfric himself was the cause of the loss of much landed property. In order to advance his brother he conveyed to him, without the consent of the monastery, several estates. Upon discovery, the abbot withdrew from Ely in sorrow and disgrace, and soon fell sick and died. As in the previous case, a composition was effected between Guthmund, the late abbot's brother, and the monks, whereby he was to retain the lands for his life. But, as before, these lands were alienated after the Conquest, and never recovered.

Abbot Thurstan (1066-1072) was appointed by King Harold, and was the last Saxon abbot. He was a native of the Isle of Ely, having been born at Witchford. He naturally took the part of Edgar Atheling—whom he regarded as the rightful heir after Harold was killed—against William the Conqueror. He gave every support to the many who gathered together in the isle as to a fastness, and encouraged the plans of Hereward. When the cause of the English seemed hopeless, the monks endeavoured to persuade the soldiers to surrender; not being successful, they sent messengers to the king assuring him of their sorrow at having taken part against him, and promising to behave better in future. Afterwards the abbot himself went, and gave the king much information about the place, and the best method of subduing it. But when the isle was finally subdued, the king signified his great displeasure at the behaviour of the monks, and exacted a heavy fine. He is said to have gone in person to the minster, after his victory, and to have made an offering at the altar; but the monks were under such strict surveillance, and the king's visit was so secret, that no one knew of his coming till after he was gone. Thurstan escaped deprivation by his complete submission and prudent conduct, and remained abbot till his death in 1072. But it appears that the monks had not thoroughly made their peace with the Conqueror by the time of Abbot Thurstan's death, for we read, "Eodem anno monachi Elienses, quibusdam Anglorum magnatibus contra regem Willelmum rebellantibus succursum praebentes, exlegati sunt."[12]

He was succeeded by a Norman, Theodwin (1072-1075), a monk of Jumieges. This was a Benedictine abbey of great repute in the diocese of Rouen. Its church had been built during the abbacy of Robert, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury; and he died and was buried at Jumieges. Theodwin was present at the Council of London in 1075. He died the same year.

For upwards of six years the affairs of the monastery were administered by Godfrey, one of the monks. He was an able and efficient administrator. In his time the king sent a number of knights and gentlemen to live at Ely, and he supported them out of the revenues of the house. The names and armorial bearings of these pensioners are preserved in a curious painting called the "Tabula Eliensis," now in the palace. This is a copy, as it is said, of one formerly in the refectory. It cannot be earlier than the fifteenth century. There are in it forty compartments, in each of which is represented a knight and a monk, the names of both being given above, and the arms of the knights being placed beside their heads. Some of the names are still to be found among the nobility and gentry of England, and in some instances the very same armorial bearings are used. This is the case in the families of Lacy, St. Leger, Montfort, Clare, Touchet, Furnival, Fulke, Newbury, Lucy, Talbot, Fitzallen, Longchamp. It need hardly be pointed out that no contemporary Norman painting could have given such shields of arms to the different knights, heraldry having only established itself as a science in England in the thirteenth century.

The affairs of the abbey had been in a very unsettled state since the time when the Camp of Refuge was attacked, so many of the estates of the church having been granted to Norman followers of the Conqueror. But the king's resentment at last gave way, and he was induced to sanction an inquiry into the rights and liberties of the monastery. He appointed his brother Odo, then Bishop of Bayeux, to summon an assembly of barons, sheriffs, and others interested in the matter, to consider and determine the claims of the monks. The meeting was held at Kentford, in Suffolk; and the report was so favourable that the king directed the church to be put into possession of all the rights, customs, and privileges which it enjoyed at the time of King Edward's death.

Godfrey, the administrator, being made Abbot of Malmesbury, an abbot was at length given to Ely in the person of Simeon (1081-1093). He was prior of Winchester, and brother to Walkelin, Bishop of Winchester. He was very old when he came to Ely; but though upwards of eighty-six years of age at the time, he remained abbot for more than twelve years. He laid the foundations of the present church, and completed some part of the building, as has been previously told. He died in 1093.[13]

King William II. immediately took possession of the abbey estates, let them to various tenants, and appointed a receiver to pay the rents into his treasury. This arrangement lasted during the remainder of his reign.

King Henry I., upon coming to the throne, at once "restored the liberties" of the church, and made Richard (1100-1107) abbot. He was a Norman and a kinsman of the king, as his grandfather, Earl Gilbert, was descended from Robert, Duke of Normandy. He successfully resisted the claim of the Bishop of Lincoln to give him benediction, though Simeon had received benediction from Bishop Remigius. In the Council of London, in 1102, Abbot Richard, with many others, was deposed. "Anselmus archiepiscopus, concilio convocato apud Londiniam, rege consentiente, plures deposuit abbates vel propter simoniam vel propter aliam vitae infamiam."[14] The abbots of Burgh, Ramsey, and Ely were three of nine so deposed. The "Liber Eliensis" attributes Richard's deposition to the intrigues of the Court. The pope annulled the sentence in the following year. This abbot proceeded with the building of the church, and seems to have finished the Norman transepts and choir, and perhaps the whole of the Norman tower. He is, however, most worthy of note from having been the first to suggest the creation of the See of Ely. He submitted the idea to the king, who was quite favourable; and he then sent messengers to the pope to obtain his approval. Before this could be secured the abbot died, but in little more than two years after his death the proposal was carried into effect.