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St Etheldreda's Church, London

St Etheldreda's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Ely Place, off Charterhouse Street in Holborn, London. The building is one of only two surviving in London from the reign of Edward I, and dates from between 1250-1290. It is dedicated to Æthelthryth, or Etheldreda, the Anglo-Saxon saint who founded the monastery at Ely in 673. It was the chapel of the London residence of the Bishops of Ely.

 

In the early 17th century it served briefly as an embassy chapel for the Spanish Ambassador, and a haven for English Catholics. The chapel was purchased by the Catholic Church in 1874 and opened in 1878 and is one of the oldest churches in England to be in current use by the Catholic Church.

 

St Etheldreda's consists of a chapel, or upper church, and a crypt or undercroft and is active and used for Masses, baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Because Etheldreda was often invoked for help with infections of the throat, the Blessing of the Throats is held annually at the chapel.

 

The Catholic chapel at the United States Military Academy, West Point, is modelled on St Etheldreda's

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Uploaded on August 25, 2020
Taken on August 12, 2020