16757
Ely Cathedral (in full, The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely) is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. It is known locally as "the ship of the Fens", because of its
prominent shape that towers above the surrounding flat landscape.
Ely has been an important centre of Christian worship since the seventh century AD. Most of what is known about its history before the Norman Conquest comes from Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum written early in the eighth century and from the Liber Eliensis, an anonymous chronicle written at Ely some time in the twelfth century, drawing on Bede for the very early years, and covering the history of the community until the twelfth century.
According to these sources the first Christian community here was founded by St. Æthelthryth
(romanised as "Etheldreda"), daughter of the Anglo-Saxon King Anna of East Anglia, who was born at Exning near Newmarket. She may have acquired land at Ely from her first husband Tondberht,
described by Bede as a "prince" of the South Gyrwas. After the end of her second marriage to
Ecgfrith, a prince of Northumbria, in 673 she set up and ruled as Abbess a dual monastery at Ely for men and for women. When she died, a shrine was built there to her memory. This monastery is
recorded as having been destroyed in about 870 in the course of Danish invasions. However, while the lay settlement of the time would have been a minor one, it is likely that a church survived there until its refoundation in the 10th century. The history of the religious community during that period is unclear, but accounts of the refoundation in the tenth century suggest that there had been an
establishment of secular priests.
In the course of the revival of the English church under Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, a new Benedictine abbey for men was established in Ely in 970. This was one of a wave of monastic refoundations which locally included Peterborough and Ramsey. Ely became one of the leading Benedictine houses in late Anglo-Saxon England. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066 the abbey allied itself with the local resistance to Norman rule led by Hereward the Wake. The new regime having established control of the area, after the death of the abbot Thurstan, a Norman successor Theodwine was installed. In 1109 Ely attained cathedral status with the appointment of Hervey le Breton as Bishop of the new diocese which was taken out of the very large diocese of Lincoln. This involved a division of the monastic property between the bishopric and the monastery, whose establishment was reduced from 70 to 40 monks. Its status changed to that of a priory, with the bishop as titular abbot.
In 1539, during the Dissolution of the monasteries, the priory surrendered to Henry VIII’s
commissioners. The cathedral was refounded by royal charter in 1541 with the former prior Robert Steward as Dean and the majority of the former monks as prebendaries and minor canons,
supplemented by Matthew Parker, later Archbishop of Canterbury, and Richard Cox, later Bishop of Ely. With a brief interruption from 1649 to 1660 during the Commonwealth, when all cathedrals were abolished, this foundation has continued in its essentials to the twenty-first century, with a
reduced number of residentiary canons now supplemented by a number of lay canons appointed
under a Church Measure of 1999.
As with other cathedrals, Ely’s pattern of worship centres around the Opus Dei, the daily programme of services drawing significantly on the Benedictine tradition. It also serves as the mother church of the Diocese and ministers to a substantial local congregation. At the Dissolution the veneration of St Etheldreda was suppressed, her shrine in the Cathedral was destroyed, and the dedication of the
cathedral to her and St Peter was replaced by the present dedication to the Holy and Undivided
Trinity. Since 1873 the practice of honouring her memory has been revived, and annual festivals are celebrated, commemorating events in her life and the successive “translations” - removals of her
remains to new shrines – which took place in subsequent centuries.”
16757
Ely Cathedral (in full, The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely) is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. It is known locally as "the ship of the Fens", because of its
prominent shape that towers above the surrounding flat landscape.
Ely has been an important centre of Christian worship since the seventh century AD. Most of what is known about its history before the Norman Conquest comes from Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum written early in the eighth century and from the Liber Eliensis, an anonymous chronicle written at Ely some time in the twelfth century, drawing on Bede for the very early years, and covering the history of the community until the twelfth century.
According to these sources the first Christian community here was founded by St. Æthelthryth
(romanised as "Etheldreda"), daughter of the Anglo-Saxon King Anna of East Anglia, who was born at Exning near Newmarket. She may have acquired land at Ely from her first husband Tondberht,
described by Bede as a "prince" of the South Gyrwas. After the end of her second marriage to
Ecgfrith, a prince of Northumbria, in 673 she set up and ruled as Abbess a dual monastery at Ely for men and for women. When she died, a shrine was built there to her memory. This monastery is
recorded as having been destroyed in about 870 in the course of Danish invasions. However, while the lay settlement of the time would have been a minor one, it is likely that a church survived there until its refoundation in the 10th century. The history of the religious community during that period is unclear, but accounts of the refoundation in the tenth century suggest that there had been an
establishment of secular priests.
In the course of the revival of the English church under Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, a new Benedictine abbey for men was established in Ely in 970. This was one of a wave of monastic refoundations which locally included Peterborough and Ramsey. Ely became one of the leading Benedictine houses in late Anglo-Saxon England. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066 the abbey allied itself with the local resistance to Norman rule led by Hereward the Wake. The new regime having established control of the area, after the death of the abbot Thurstan, a Norman successor Theodwine was installed. In 1109 Ely attained cathedral status with the appointment of Hervey le Breton as Bishop of the new diocese which was taken out of the very large diocese of Lincoln. This involved a division of the monastic property between the bishopric and the monastery, whose establishment was reduced from 70 to 40 monks. Its status changed to that of a priory, with the bishop as titular abbot.
In 1539, during the Dissolution of the monasteries, the priory surrendered to Henry VIII’s
commissioners. The cathedral was refounded by royal charter in 1541 with the former prior Robert Steward as Dean and the majority of the former monks as prebendaries and minor canons,
supplemented by Matthew Parker, later Archbishop of Canterbury, and Richard Cox, later Bishop of Ely. With a brief interruption from 1649 to 1660 during the Commonwealth, when all cathedrals were abolished, this foundation has continued in its essentials to the twenty-first century, with a
reduced number of residentiary canons now supplemented by a number of lay canons appointed
under a Church Measure of 1999.
As with other cathedrals, Ely’s pattern of worship centres around the Opus Dei, the daily programme of services drawing significantly on the Benedictine tradition. It also serves as the mother church of the Diocese and ministers to a substantial local congregation. At the Dissolution the veneration of St Etheldreda was suppressed, her shrine in the Cathedral was destroyed, and the dedication of the
cathedral to her and St Peter was replaced by the present dedication to the Holy and Undivided
Trinity. Since 1873 the practice of honouring her memory has been revived, and annual festivals are celebrated, commemorating events in her life and the successive “translations” - removals of her
remains to new shrines – which took place in subsequent centuries.”