Yesterday, Tanya, Alex, and I went to Ely, a small small town just 15 minutes north of Cambridge by train. We're in English Architectural History together, and will be studying the Gothic style this week, so Ely was the perfect place to see it up close and personal. The train trip further proved that everything in this part of England is flat, and most of it is green. And look, blue sky again!
Ely Cathedral is over 900 years old (100 years older than Cambridge University!) and was built when the town of Ely was originally an island in the marsh. Folklore says that the town got its names from the large number of eels that were swimming around the island. The Cathedral, also known as "The Ship of the Fens" is huge. HUGE. This tower is 215 feet high.
It was built and rebuilt over hundreds of years, though, so it isn't all Gothic per se. There are rounded arches and other Romanesque features, but the whole thing is just simply beautiful, and remarkably coherent (at least to my untrained eye). This is a look down the center of the Cathedral, or the nave:
In one of the little side chapels, they had embroidered pillows hanging off the backs of the chairs, for people to rest their knees on when praying:
This is the octagonal "lantern tower" that rests over the cross of the Cathedral. It was constructed in the 1300s and is definitely my favorite part of the church:
Posing in front of the church:
Flying buttresses!
I really liked this little crest that was on the city's trash bins:
Goodbye, Ely! Just in time for the weather to turn back to that typical English sky...
Ely Cathedral is over 900 years old (100 years older than Cambridge University!) and was built when the town of Ely was originally an island in the marsh. Folklore says that the town got its names from the large number of eels that were swimming around the island. The Cathedral, also known as "The Ship of the Fens" is huge. HUGE. This tower is 215 feet high.
It was built and rebuilt over hundreds of years, though, so it isn't all Gothic per se. There are rounded arches and other Romanesque features, but the whole thing is just simply beautiful, and remarkably coherent (at least to my untrained eye). This is a look down the center of the Cathedral, or the nave:
In one of the little side chapels, they had embroidered pillows hanging off the backs of the chairs, for people to rest their knees on when praying:
This is the octagonal "lantern tower" that rests over the cross of the Cathedral. It was constructed in the 1300s and is definitely my favorite part of the church:
Posing in front of the church:
Flying buttresses!
I really liked this little crest that was on the city's trash bins:
Goodbye, Ely! Just in time for the weather to turn back to that typical English sky...
1 comment:
Love the city crest. I wonder if it contains a clue as to the historical importance of Ely--might it have been a center for horse trading once?
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