Ely
STUDENT DIARY TRAVEL ACCOUNTS
Jen Mack
1.27.00
On
the 16th day of January 2000 the group headed to the city of Ely, the
site of an impressive local Cathedral. But before reaching our destination we
stopped at a little pub in Newton called the Queenshead. For lunch we were served
delicious soup along with some very good sandwiches (see image to left). We had
some free time to explore some of England’s gorgeous countryside. Our stop in
Newton was a great way to begin our day.
In the mid 600’s an woman by the name of St. Etheldreda was given the small
Isle of Ely as a wedding gift from her first husband. St. Etheldreda’s real
passion was to become a nun, but she was forced by her father to marry twice
for political reasons. During St. Etheldreda's second marriage she fled to Ely 
after
hearing that her husband wanted to consummate their marriage; virginity was
highly prized during this period. In 673 a double monastery was founded and
St. Etheldreda became the Abbess. Throughout the years the monastery endured
much destruction and reconstruction. It was not until 1083 that the construction
of the present Cathedral began (see image to right). Because the completion
of the Cathedral took hundreds years one can see the different periods represented
throughout the Cathedral.
The Roman and Gothic arches are one example. Restoration projects throughout
the years created things like the marvelous octagon – center tower and the Lady
Chapel, which is the largest Lady Chapel in all of Britain. When the Lady Chapel
was originally completed the walls were filled with color, the windows were
full of medieval stained glass, and the niches were filled with detailed statues.
However, much of the artwork--statues, stained glass, and paintings--were removed
or destroyed during the Reformation. Yet, there is still tremendous amount of
beauty that can be seen through close examination. A couple of things that stick
out in my mind were the statues that had their heads cutoff, the beautiful reassembled
stained glass in one of the windows, and the green man (see image to left).
The green man is a man’s face with ivy around his face and going in and out
of his mouth.
The green man is evidence of the earlier pagan beliefs and was a sign of fertility
that was commonly found in many churches throughout the land. The green man
in the Lady Chapel is one of distinct character. Within the Cathedral there
are also several small Chapels made and paid for by individual bishops throughout
the years. Most of these Bishops were then buried within the Cathedral, which
makes one’s experience in the Chapel all the more amazing and a little creepy.
The Cathedral also holds the largest collection of Victorian stained glass of
any of the English Cathedrals.
There are no words that I can use to describe the feelings I was experiencing
as I was walking throughout this amazing Cathedral. The Cathedral is filled
with much beauty and history that it is quite overwhelming. After our tour of
the Cathedral and a little exploring many of us attended a full choral Evensong
that was a moving experience for all. Our visit to Ely also gave us insight
into the religious practices throughout the times, which we shall be studying
in reference to the Reformation. Overall, our trip to Ely was an amazing experience,
emotionally and historically, that touched everyone in the group.