[Illustration: HENGRAVE HALL.]
[Illustration: ROAD LEADING TO ELY CLOSE.]
The river Cam below Cambridge flows through that country of reclaimed
marshland which ultimately ends in the Wash, between Norfolk and
Lincolnshire, and is known as the Fenland. This "Great Level of the
Fens" has been drained and reclaimed by the labors of successive
generations of engineers, and contains about six hundred and eighty
thousand acres of the richest lands in England, being as much the
product of engineering skill as Holland itself. Not many centuries ago
this vast surface, covering two thousand square miles, was entirely
abandoned to the waters, forming an immense estuary of the Wash, into
which various rivers discharge the rainfall of Central England. In
winter it was an inland sea and in summer a noxious swamp. The more
elevated parts were overgrown with tall reeds that in the distance
looked like fields of waving corn, and immense flocks of wild-fowl
haunted them. Into this dismal swamp the rivers brought down their
freshets, the waters mingling and winding by devious channels before
they reached the sea. The silt with which they were laden became
deposited in the basin of the Fens, and thus the river-beds were choked
up, compelling the intercepted waters to force new channels through the
ooze; hence there are numerous abandoned beds of old rivers still
traceable amid the level of the Fens. This region now is drained and
dyked, but in earlier times it was a wilderness of shallow waters and
reedy islets, with frequent "islands" of firmer and more elevated
ground. These were availed of for the monasteries of the Fenland--Ely,
Peterborough, Crowland, and others, all established by the Benedictines.
The abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, although situated some distance from the
marshland, may also be classed among the religious houses of the Fens.
This abbey, which is a short distance east of Cambridge, was built in
the eleventh century as the shrine of St. Edmund, King of East Anglia,
who was killed by the Danes about the year 870. It soon became one of
the wealthiest English monasteries, and was the chief religious centre
of that section. Only ruins remain, the chief being the abbey-gate, now
the property of the Marquis of Bristol, and the Norman tower and church,
which have recently been restored. In the suburbs of Bury is Hengrave
Hall, one of the most interesting Tudor mansions remaining in the
kingdom. Originally, it was three times its present size, and was built
by Sir Thomas Kytson about 1525. Its gate-house is rich in details, and
the many windows and projections of the southern front group
picturesquely.
[Illustration: ELY CATHEDRAL, FROM THE RAILWAY-BRIDGE.]
Following the Cam northward from Cambridge through the marshland, we
come to the Isle of Ely, the great "fortress of the Fens," and standing
upon its highest ground the cathedral of Ely. Here St. Etheldreda
founded a monastery in the seventh century, which ultimately became a
cathedral, Ely having been given a bishop in 1109. The present buildings
date all the way from the eleventh to the sixteenth century, so that
they give specimens of all Gothic styles. The cathedral is five hundred
and thirty-seven feet long, and from the summit of its western tower can
be gained a fine view of the spreading fens and lowlands of
Cambridgeshire, amid which stands the Isle of Ely. One of the finest
views of this tower is that obtained from the road leading to Ely Close.
Before drainage had improved the surrounding country this was one of the
strongest fortresses in England, and it was also one of the last to
yield to the Norman Conquest, its reduction causing King William heavy
loss. Afterwards he regarded it as among his most loyal strongholds. The
lofty tower, and indeed the whole cathedral, are landmarks for the
entire country round, and from the rising ground at Cambridge, fully
twenty miles to the southward, can be seen standing out against the sky.
From the dykes and fields and meadows that have replaced the marshes
along the Cam and Ouse the huge tower can be seen looming up in stately
grandeur. It is almost the sole attraction of the sleepy little country
town. The great feature of this massive cathedral is the wonderful
central octagon, with its dome-like roof crowned by a lofty lantern,
which is said to be the only Gothic dome of its kind in existence in
England or France. We are told that the original cathedral had a central
tower, which for some time showed signs of instability, until on one
winter's morning in 1321 it came down with an earthquake crash and
severed the cathedral into four arms. In reconstructing it, to ensure
security, the entire breadth of the church was taken as a base for the
octagon, so that it was more than three times as large as the original
square tower. Magnificent windows are inserted in the exterior faces of
the octagon, and the entire cathedral has been recently restored. It was
to Bishop Cox, who then presided over the see of Ely, that Queen
Elizabeth, when he objected to the alienation of certain church
property, wrote her famous letter:
"PROUD PRELATE: You know what you were before I made you what you
are; if you do not immediately comply with my request, by God, I
will unfrock you."
"ELIZABETH R."
[Illustration: OLD BITS IN ELY.
1. Old passage from Ely street to Cathedral Ford.
2. Entrance to Prior Crawdon's Chapel.
3. Old houses in High Street.]
The bishop, it is almost unnecessary to say, surrendered. The town
contains little of interest beyond some quaint old houses.