Ely & Cambridge
“I never weary of great churches. It is my favorite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral.”
On The Road Again
Friday was all about one thing: getting ourselves from northern England to southern England.
We left our Durham apartment a bit past 9 am and spent the next 5 hours “enjoying” on a good ol’ fashioned road trip.
We stopped to make a pee pee and as we were walking back to our car, guess who paid us a visit?
Ely Cathedral
I lied. Friday had two goals, in fact. Making significant headway on our journey south was a definite goal, but so was visiting one final cathedral. And we may have saved the best for last.
You’ll have no difficulty imaging that Amanda wanted nothing to do with touring one more cathedral, especially since I wanted to take the tour that climbs up into the octagon tower. We’ll get to the octagon tour in a second (and, yes, Amanda went to the charity shops), but first, Oliver Cromwell, one of England’s true anti-heros, had a house next to Ely Cathedral (pronounced E-lee).
Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell are two big turds in England’s punch bowl. I did have the timed tour pending at the cathedral, and I’m clearly not a fan of Oliver Cromwell, so probably not somewhere I was particularly interested in visiting. I was willing, however, to take a photograph out front because I’m a dedicated blogger who wants you at home to enjoy the full experience. 😊
So, why is Ely Cathedral a name you have probably never heard and also my favorite cathedral? Let’s see if I can convince you.
“Intellectuals are cynical and cynics have never built a cathedral.”
The West Tower was completed in the 14th century and its hexagonal tower is unique.
Much like Gloucester Cathedral and St Magnus Cathedral (Orkney), the Nave is so old it was built by the Normans and has round pillars and arches and was completed in 1189. Astonishing they could design and construct such a massive building back then.
The amazing ceiling in the Nave is Victorian, depicting different scenes from the Bible. It shows how all of history, starting with Adam, points to and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
But the real stunner is The Octagon. Ironically, this magnificent and wholly unique tower was the result of poor design.
The original Norman tower collapsed in 1322. On the night of February 12, 1322, disaster struck. The original tower, which stood here, collapsed, leaving a gaping hole and destrying part of what in now the choir
In its place Alan de Walsingham, Sacrist of the monastery, created the Octagon, a structure of timber, glass, and lead, standing on 8 massive stone pillars.
“The most expensive part of building is the mistakes.”
It was an engineering marvel for it’s time and the geometric design is simply mesmerizing.
While the Transept in most cathedrals is square, Ely has these four diagonal walls the others lack. On each of these diagonal walls are carvings of three apostles, so that all twelve are represented around the Transept.
The diagonal walls also have windows that introduce additional light into the space. You can appreciate the full length of the Nave on the left above.
This very ornate piece appears to be the organ pipes; however, it is purely decorative and conceals where the organist sits. You can see the real pipes through the archway.
The organist reaches their platform by way of this door and by ascending the decorative spiral staircase. It’s a very unique feature I’ve never seen in another cathedral.
The shrine to St Etheldreda is in the Presbytery, which was built on the 13th century to house the shrine to St Etheldreda by adding onto the east end of the original Norman cathedral. For many centuries pilgrims came to Ely to pray here, at the shrine of St Etheldreda,
Etheldreda was a Saxon Queen who founded a monastery on this site back in 673. Hers is a very interesting story if you want to Google and read something intriguing.
The magnificent vaulted ceiling inside Bishop Alcock’s Chapel.
Note that every plinth inside Bishop Alcock’s Chapel is missing its statue, thanks to Ely’s wonderful “Lord Protector,” Oliver Cromwell.
I signed up for the Octagon Tower tour, so you can see that I have made my way up and have a better view of the paintings inside the tower.
Reaching the top of the second flight of stairs that takes you out onto the cathedral’s roof.
Looking back down the spiral stairwell.
The doorway that leads you out of the spiral stairwell and onto the walkway. The roof on the left is solid lead.
The view over Ely with the Presbytery on the right and the massive Lady Chapel on the left.
Into the door at the other end of the walkway to reach the Octagon paintings.
Amazingly, each painting is on a door that can be unlatched and swung open.
Looking through the door panel, you can now see the stained glass of the Octagon’s “lantern” in its full glory!
The Octagon’s design was to draw the gaze up from darkness to light, through the saints and angels to the image of the Risen Christ.
At the center of the ceiling is a painting carving of the Risen Christ, his right hand raised in blessing while his left is pulling back his clothing to reveal the wound in his side.
Christ is surrounded by seraphim angels. In Christian angelology the seraphim are the highest-ranking celestial beings in the hierarchy of angels.
Look closely and you’ll see they are seraphim because they have are six-winged and, in art, seraphim are usually painted red, symbolizing fire.
A photo of me taken from across the Octagon.
Looking down into the Choir and Presbytery beyond.
We climbed one final level to the roof of the Octagon. Here you are looking at the outside of the stained glass “lantern” windows.
The West Tower as seen from the Octagon.
Back down at ground level—the breath-taking 14th century Lady Chapel, dedicated to Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. It is the largest chapel of its kind attached to any British cathedral. Its foundations were laid in 1321 and it was completed in 1349. Above the altar is a striking contemporary statue of Mary, dressed in blue with a halo of golden hair.
Three absolutely beautiful doors.
The Prior’s Doorway
The West Entrance doors.
All the cathedrals we visited were impressive and beautiful in their own way. For me, the uniqueness of the Octagon makes Ely stand out above the rest, coupled with the fact that you can go up inside the tower and explore the space up close. It was a wonderful final cathedral to tour!
Cambridge
It took another 45 minutes to drive from Ely Cathedral to our next apartment in Cambridge, but our longest day of driving on this trip was finally over.
Here is a video of our place (and, yes, I said halal “baker” instead of butcher 🙄 ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fl_kBdSkjc
Walking Cambridge
Cambridge alumni include: Charles Darwin, Oliver Cromwell (his head is actually buried at Sidney Sussex College under the chapel), Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, David Attenborough, Alan Turing, King Charles III, and Robert Oppenheimer.
Cambridge cricket in Parker’s Piece park.
Don’t ask; we have no idea.
Punting on the River Cam.
Google Maps took us on a weird route to see the Bridge of Sighs, so we ended all the way at the very back of the campus where there was no public access.
I saw a couple entering through a secured gate and caught the gate before it closed, which is how we completed the tour in reverse order as intended (and without paying). 😬
The building in the photo is the St John’s College “Backs” or “New Court,” the only part of the campus that sits west of the River Cam.
Standing on the Wren Bridge (named after Christopher Wren; also known as Kitchen Bridge) looking at the Bridge of Sighs and the New Court.
The Bridge of Sighs is an iconic feature of St John’s College, and one of the most recognizable pieces of architecture in Cambridge.
Built nearly 200 years ago, it is the only covered bridge to cross the River Cam, and the only College bridge built in the Victorian Gothic style.
The new buildings and bridge were designed in 1827. The bridge connecting New Court on the west bank with the seventeenth-century Third Court on the east bank was officially named “New Bridge.”
However, it soon became known anecdotally as “the Bridge of Sighs”—a reference to the famous enclosed bridge that connects the ducal palace to the prison in Venice, Italy.
Queen Victoria is said to have loved the bridge more than any other spot in Cambridge.
The bridge was a filming location for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) and The Theory of Everything (2014). The bridge can also be seen in the music video for the song “High Hopes” by Pink Floyd.
This part of the main campus looks very much like Hampton Court Palace.
Amanda standing in front of the St John's College Chapel, one of the most recognizable buildings in Cambridge.
The front entrance, where Google should have directed us (but fortunately for us didn’t).
The Round Church, from the 12th century.
