persons, may be observed in this aisle: one to Bishop Gunning
(1675-1684), worthy of remembrance as the author of the "Prayer for
all sorts and conditions of men." Near the foot of this monument is a
piscina in the wall. A little further we find one to Bishop Heton
(1600-1609), occupying the fifth bay, and is perhaps the only instance
since the Reformation, of the effigy of a bishop in a cope ornamented
with saints; the figures on the left border are those of St.
Bartholomew, St. Matthias, St. Andrew, St. Peter, and St. John.
Before passing on to the few remaining monuments we will notice the
only two specimens of ancient memorial brasses, of which there were
many in the Cathedral, as appears by the numerous incised stones in
different parts of the church, many of them were evidently of a rich
and elaborate character, but all, with the above exception, have
disappeared by the act of the mercenary or the fanatic. The first is a
memorial to Bishop Goodrich (1534-1554), a singular instance of a hot
reformer commemorated by a brass in which are pourtrayed all the
ecclesiastical vestments, he holds his crozier in his left hand, and
in his right he carries a Bible from which depends the great seal of
England, the bishop having been appointed Lord High Chancellor in
1551; the inscription has been removed. The other is in memory of
Humphrey Tyndall, fourth dean of the Cathedral (1591-1614), who is
represented in his robes, with a square-cut beard; an inscription is
engraved in the border, and the following lines beneath the feet of
the effigy:
"THE BODY OF THE WOORTHY & REVERENDE PRELATE
VMPHRY TYNDALL, DOCTOR OF DIVINITY, THE FOVRTH DEAN
OF THIS CHVRCH, AND MASTER OF QVEENES COLLEDGE IN
CAMBRIDGE DOTH HERE EXPECT THE COMING OF OVR SAVIOVR.
"In presence, gouerment, good actions and in birth,
Graue, wise, couragious, Noble was this earth,
The poor, the church, the colledge saye here lyes
'A friende, A Deane, A maister, true, good, wise.'"
We have now an opportunity of noticing the piers which separate Bishop
Northwold's work from that of Bishop Hotham; "they are," as Mr.
Millers observes, "a combination of the two sorts of column severally
in use at the respective times at which the two fabrics were erected;
the east side has the small shafts distinct from the main column, and
the west side is clustered, and where they meet is a niche for a
statue."[49] In the niche on this side is a tablet to the memory of
the Rev. James Bentham, Canon of Ely, and author of "The History and
Antiquities of Ely Cathedral," a work of acknowledged merit, the
result of many years' labour and research. He died in 1794, aged 86.
[Footnote 49: Millers' Description of Ely Cathedral, p. 89.]
The monument to Robert Steward, Esq., who died A.D. 1570, is next in
our route, and beyond that one to Sir Mark Steward, who died A.D.
1603, both examples of no particular style. In the last bay is the
monument erected to the memory of Bishop Allen, whose gravestone we
noticed in passing the retro-choir; on the table of the monument is a
reclining figure of the prelate in his robes, in white marble,
considered to be a good likeness.
Back-screens to mask the stalls, similar to those in the north aisle,
have been erected on this side, against which have been placed the
monuments of Bishop Moore (1707-1714), Bishop Butts (1738-1748), and
Bishop Greene (1723-1738). On the pillar between the two last is a
tablet to the memory of William Lynne, gentleman, of Bassingbourne,
the first husband of Elizabeth, daughter of William Steward, of Ely,
and afterwards mother of Oliver Cromwell.
The new screens with gates at the western end of the aisles are worthy
of notice as specimens of modern work in wrought iron; they were
executed by Mr. Skidmore, of Coventry, from designs by Sir G.G. Scott.
That in the south aisle was given by G.A. Lowndes, Esq., of Barrington
Hall, Essex; and that in the north aisle by Dean Peacock.
Near the Library door is a simple memorial stone[50] to Dean Peacock,
the great promoter of the recent restorations, who died in 1858, and
was buried in the Cemetery. Just below this is an elegant memorial
brass to the Rev. Solomon Smith, M.A., for over forty years a Minor
Canon of the Cathedral, and for many years Incumbent of St. Mary's.
[Footnote 50: See note, p. 50.]
Several other memorial remains may be observed in various parts of the
church, but to enumerate them or to point them out would exceed our
limits, one we may notice in passing, that of Dean Cæsar (1614-1636),
which has been removed from a position it long occupied in the north
aisle of the Choir, to the junction of that aisle with the closed end
of the eastern aisle of the north Transept, near the new pulpit.
We may also notice a new oaken lectern or reading desk near the
pulpit, containing a beautifully carved figure representative of the
first beatitude, under a cinquefoil canopy, the gift of the Very Rev.
the Dean.
"Of fifty-four bishops of Ely," says Mr. Millers, "thirty-five are
known to have been buried in this Cathedral, and two in the Lady
Chapel. Of these thirty-seven, there are memorials of twenty; some of
them very scanty and much mutilated, and many removed from the spots
where the bodies of those whom they commemorate repose. Of the other
seventeen, there were no doubt, similar memorials, but they 'are
perished as though they had never been.'"[51] Since the above was
written two others have been buried in the Cathedral--Bishop Sparke
in West's chapel, and Bishop Allen behind the altar screen, as we have
noticed; Bishop Turton (1845-1864), was buried at Kensal Green.
[Footnote 51: Millers' Description of Ely Cathedral, p. 85.]
* * * * *
+The Lady Chapel.+
We will now direct the attention of the visitor to this most
interesting building, which stands on the north side of the Cathedral,
parallel with the Choir, and is approached through a doorway at the
north-east corner of the north Transept. This chapel was erected in
the early part of the fourteenth century, the first stone being laid
on Lady-day, 1321, by Alan de Walsingham, then sub-prior, and the
whole was completed A.D. 1349. The works were carried on chiefly under
the charge of John de Wisbech, one of the monks, who, it is stated,
whilst assisting in digging the foundations, found a brazen pot of old
coins buried in the earth, and which proved a great assistance in
carrying on the work. This was, perhaps, one of the most beautiful and
elaborate specimens of the Decorated style in England; and as Mr.
Stewart observes, "must have been a perfect storehouse of statuary and
elaborate tabernacle work." Even in its present dilapidated state it
will amply repay a careful examination. It was dedicated to St. Mary,
and after the Reformation, was (in 1566) assigned by the Dean and
Chapter for the use of the inhabitants of the parish of Holy Trinity
in lieu of their own church then in ruins, and has since been
frequently called "Trinity Church."
This is, perhaps, the widest single-span church in the kingdom, being
46 feet in width; the length is 100 feet, and the height 60 feet to
the centre of the ceiling. Its length is divided into five severies,
in each of which, on both sides, is a window of great size with four
lights and rich tracery, in some of which are fragments of the
original stained glass, sufficient to indicate that they were all, at
one period, entirely so filled. The end windows are noble and
spacious, the west window having eight lights, and the east window
seven, both have transoms, and each with tracery differing from the
other, and from the windows in the sides. Both are insertions of a
somewhat later date than the building, the east window by Bishop
Barnet about 1373, and the other a little later.
The walls everywhere display a rich profusion and variety of ornament,
once beautified with colouring and gilding, but some years ago covered
with whitewash; a few faint traces of its former splendour may yet be
found in various parts of the chapel, enough perhaps to shew that it
must have been gorgeous in the extreme.
A low bench table runs along the walls and carries a series of niches
with canopies richly decorated, the piers of which rise from the
floor, but each is divided into two by a slender pillar rising from
the bench table; the arcade on the north side consists of nineteen
tabernacles separated by square pilasters of Purbeck marble; there are
five sets of three each under the windows, and the remaining four fill
up the intermediate spaces between the five groups. The canopy of each
of the fifteen tabernacles consists of a head of singular beauty,
radiated and inclined forwards, on the apex is, or was, the figure of
a saint; above these is a hood-mould crocketed, and terminating with a
finial. The other four are wider, and instead of the figure of a saint
on the apex each terminates in a group of three elaborately carved
brackets or corbels, which support two other ranges of niches in
pairs, surmounted by ornamented canopies, and between them runs a
roof-shaft, from which spring the ribs of the vaulting, which is
similar to that of the stalled Choir. The spandrils of the tabernacle
work is filled with diaper work and alto relievos which are supposed
to represent some legendary history, most probably that of the virgin.
The south side is similar to the north, except that the range of
tabernacles is broken by doorways. The west end contains eight of
these tabernacles, and at the east end a larger niche occupied the
centre with others on the sides, but these were altered at a later
period. The altar is elevated above the level of the floor, and the
niches on the side walls are raised in accordance. Large niches are
placed on the sides of all the windows, and a pierced parapet standing
on an entablature formed of a receding hollow, runs under the side
windows only.
The backs of the niches and indeed many parts of the chapel show
remains of rich colouring; the ceiling was painted a rich blue studded
with silver stars, the bosses at the intersections of the ribs
represented flowers, foliage, and grotesque masks, and some of those
along the mid-rib represented emblems of the nativity, crucifixion,
the virgin, &c.; they had been richly coloured and gilded, but, like
other parts of the building, have been defaced and injured; and every
person who sees it must feel a deep regret that so beautiful a
building should ever reach such a stage of desecration.
A few modern monumental tablets are placed on the walls, but they
diminish rather than increase the decoration: some others have been
removed to the entrance, and in 1865 the close pews were taken away
and replaced by open seats; the organ has been enlarged and its
position changed, which does not improve the appearance of the church;
some of the windows have been re-glazed and other improvements
effected. The present Incumbent is the Rev. E.H. Lowe, M.A.
The position of the Lady Chapel here is rather unusual, it is
generally placed at the east end of the Church; but in some few
instances that honourable position was appropriated to the shrine of
the local saint; here it was occupied by the shrine of St. Etheldreda,
whose final resting place was within the apse of the original Choir,
before the Presbytery was built.
* * * * *
+The Upper parts of the Church.+
To those who may feel disposed to explore the upper parts of the
church, facilities are afforded by a staircase commencing at the
south-west Transept leading to the western Tower; and by another
leading from the north Transept; but permission must be obtained, for
which an application should be made to the Verger in attendance. The
ascent, though tedious, is not dangerous, if due caution be used. Many
parts will be found worthy of attention; the timber work of the
Octagon is a very curious piece of carpentry executed in English oak,
and very massive. A fine view of the interior may be had by standing
against the upper tier of the windows at the east end, and looking
westward; and another from the great Tower, by looking eastward
through one of the openings near the clock face in the Nave. An
extensive view of the surrounding country may be obtained from the
summit of the Tower, exhibiting a complete panorama of the district,
with several churches peeping from among the trees, and the river Ouse
tracing its meandering course towards the sea, while corn-fields,
meadows, and pastures contribute towards the beauty of the scene.
+Exterior of the Cathedral.+
After a careful examination of the interior, the visitor will do well
to look round the exterior. We will continue our observations for his
guidance and assistance, starting from the western front where we
began; or by leaving the Cathedral by the north door into the
church-yard, we turn to the left hand towards the north-west corner of
the building, and proceed eastward.
While we are on the spot it may be well to observe the burial-ground
near us, where lie the remains of generation after generation of
former inhabitants of the town. Reader, let thy foot tread lightly
hereabout, for the dust it presses on is all that remains of the
earthly portion of creatures once breathing and living like yourself.
What a lesson is afforded us when we contemplate, on the one hand the
works of men of ages long past, but still standing as monuments of
their skill and piety, and on the other the graves of the silent dead;
the heads which planned and the hands which executed, where are they?
Long since consigned to earth. All must feel, more or less, the
influence of impressions to which such thoughts and scenes give rise,
and may such feelings cause us to remember that we are but dust, and
that we must, perhaps soon, become as those who lie beneath our feet!
"Our time is fixed, and all our days are numbered,
How long, how short, we know not."--_Blair_.
The church-yard has been closed from burials for some years, and a
cemetery has been formed a short distance from the town for the use of
both parishes, as well as for the precincts which are extra-parochial.
Many of the gravestones have been laid down, others removed, but a few
inscriptions might be found which would afford food for meditation to
those who may feel inclined to examine them.
* * * * *
At the commencement of our survey we examined the western front, and
will now turn our attention to the remains of the north-west Transept.
Some persons have doubted whether this wing ever existed, but Sir.
G.G. Scott, in his able Lecture on the Cathedral, delivered at the
Etheldreda Festival in October, 1873, gave good reasons for believing
that it was built at the same time as the Tower and the south wing;
and we cannot but think the ruins give strong evidence of its having
been similar in all respects to that on the south side. There is in
this, as in the other, a grand semicircular arch on the eastern side,
and portions of another which probably communicated with some chapel,
of which however there are neither remains nor record. It would appear
that after the fall of the original wing a new building was begun on
the same spot, not however of the same dimensions, and carried but a
few feet and then discontinued. A band of panelling in the western
face of the buttress corresponds with the work on the monument of
Bishop Redman, who died in 1505, but the fall of the Transept took
place some years, probably a century, before that. The arches built
within the original arches of the Tower to afford additional support
are believed to have been erected in the early part of the fifteenth
century.
We have reasons to hope that steps will ere long be taken to raise a
fund towards rebuilding this Transept;[52] which would indeed be a
grand improvement, and worthy the support, not only of the Diocese of
Ely but of the nation at large.
[Footnote 52: At the meeting of the Diocesan Conference at Ely, in
July, 1874, the subject of the Restorations of the Cathedral was
discussed, and the following Resolution passed unanimously.--"That it
is desirable that a Diocesan Committee of Clergy and Laity, with
Branch Committees in each Archdeaconry, be formed to co-operate with
the Bishop, Dean, and Chapter, for raising funds to carry on the
Restoration of the Cathedral by rebuilding in the first instance,
after the completion of the works now in hand, the north-west
Transept."--_Ely Conference Report, 1874._]
A good view of the Nave may be obtained as it is unobstructed through
its whole length. A band of treble billet moulding runs under the
lower windows; a double hatched moulding under the second tier; and
immediately below the parapet is the ornament called the corbel table;
these with the billet moulding round the clerestory windows, are in
excellent preservation. The parapet on the wall of the aisle is
embattled, that above the clerestory windows is plain. Although at one
time battlements ran the whole length on both sides, those on the
north were removed nearly one hundred years ago. The windows in the
clerestory retain their original form, but those of the two lower
tiers have been altered. Over one of the lower windows there appears a
date (1662), probably referring to the period of some important
repairs or alterations on this side. The removal of the ruins of the
old Church of St. Cross, which stood near this spot, took place in
the reign of Elizabeth, when the use of the Lady Chapel was granted to
the parish of Holy Trinity.
We next turn our attention to the Octagon, which forms a grand central
point from which radiate the four principal parts of the church--the
Nave, the Choir, and the north and south arms of the Transept. Here
originally stood a large square Norman Tower, which fell down in 1322,
and was replaced by the present building; it is not an exact octagon,
having four longer sides adjoining the four main portions of the
building, and four shorter sides at the angles. The design was a grand
one, but whether it was ever fully carried out is somewhat doubtful,
the stone-work is carried up to a height a little above the roof of
the Nave, &c., but the Lantern above is of English oak covered with
lead. From a strong buttress, surmounted by a pinnacle, at each of the
angles formed by the walls of the Nave and Choir aisles with those of
the Transept spring two massive flying buttresses, abutting octagonal
turrets at each angle of the Octagon; these turrets were probably
originally designed to be finished with pinnacles, and thus form a
corona; between them runs a pierced parapet formerly surmounted by a
bold cresting of leaves and other ornaments; and there are bases of
pillars at the cardinal points. These pinnacles with the cresting have
just been completed in Clipsham stone, by Mr. Wood, of Ely, in a
manner highly creditable to his skill, and greatly to the improvement
of the appearance of the building. Beneath the parapet, instead of a
corbel table, there is a deep hollow, with running leaves, and small
ball flowers at intervals. The sides of the Octagon are adorned with
an arcade of pointed arches, some of which are pierced and glazed to
admit light; the longer sides have six, and the shorter three, of
these arches. In each of the turrets is a winding stair communicating
respectively with the main parts of the building. The Lantern above is
of two stories, the lower, (which is open to the interior of the
Octagon) is lighted by windows assimilating with the large windows in
the angles of the Octagon; the upper story is lighted by louvres as
adapted to a belfry, for which purpose this chamber was originally
designed; the lower windows have been reconstructed, a series of
flying buttresses (which had been taken away) have been re-placed
against the angle divisions, which are finished with embattled turrets
instead of pinnacles, and between them runs an open-work parapet. The
whole of the Lantern has been repaired, and the exterior wood work
re-covered with lead.
The portion of the north Transept which fell down in 1699, although
soon afterwards carefully restored, and the mouldings and ornaments
nicely replaced, may yet be distinguished from the old work: the
Tuscan door-arch, however, in its northern face, is quite out of place
here, not according with the style of the building in which it is
placed. The restorations were executed under the directions of Sir
Christopher Wren. The northern face of the Transept shows two pairs of
Norman windows, the second pair being longer than those in the lower
tier; above these is an arcade of small arches, and over these are two
high Perpendicular windows, which reach partly into the gable. Over
the doorway in the eastern aisle is an original Norman window, and in
the western aisle is a replaced one.
The west front of the Lady Chapel[53] is richly decorated with niches,
and has a noble window, under which is an arcade of small arches
formed entirely in the thickness of the wall, in the back of some of
which may be seen traces of coloured decoration; the gable point is
adorned with a niche rising above the pierced parapet running up the
sides. On each side of the building are five large windows, the
tracery of which is much decayed, having been executed in a softer
kind of stone than the walls. Between each two windows is a deep
projecting buttress surmounted by a crocketed pinnacle; at the angles
are double buttresses, on which are two kinds of tabernacles, both are
square and occupy the breadth of the buttress, the upper one is
recessed in the body of the buttress, the lower one is open on three
sides, and had small pillars at the front angles rising from the
set-off and carrying the projecting canopy; the tops being finished
with crocketed pinnacles. The east end is not so richly ornamented as
the west; the window is a very fine one but not so large as the
western one, and there are no niches on the sides nor beneath it.
[Footnote 53: Now in course of restoration.]
The north side of the Choir is somewhat hidden by the Lady Chapel,
which stands parallel to it, although the latter is much shorter; but
a better view may be had by going between them. An opportunity is also
thus afforded of observing the original Norman windows of the
triforium of the Transept.
The windows of the aisle are uniform in size and shape, those of the
triforium are nearly similar, but all were originally lancet-shaped,
but altered to their present form in the latter part of the fifteenth
century. The aisle roof of the two western bays of Bishop Northwold's
work (the six eastern bays) was perhaps originally as high as the
other parts, but altered at a later period; the tracery of these
windows on the north side remains, but on the south side there is a
difference which should be noticed. The lighter style of architecture
and the large windows of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries made
the support of buttresses necessary, in this instance they are deep,
and surmounted by crocketed pinnacles; on the sides of many of them
are gargoyles, or water-spouts of grotesque figures; flying buttresses
are sometimes used in addition, reaching from the side buttresses to
the clerestory walls, thus forming an important addition to the
support as well as to the external beauty of the fabric: of this the
exterior of the Choir of Ely Cathedral is a splendid proof.