Cambridgeshire History On The Net

Information about Ely circa 1900

ELY is a city and head of an episcopal see, the head of a union, county court district and petty sessional division and is the capital of the Isle of its name, in the Eastern division of the county, with a station on the Great Eastern railway, 72 1/2 miles from London by rail and 67 north-east by road, 16 from Cambridge by road and 15 by rail; 26 3/4 from Lynn harbour and 13 from Newmarket by road; the Great Eastern railway affords ample means of communication with Cambridge and London, Huntingdon, Lynn, Peterborough, Yarmouth and Lowestoft, via Norwich, and through these places to all parts of the kingdom: there is also a short line from Ely to Haddenham, Sutton and St. Ives, and a branch to Newmarket, opene d in September, 1879: there is navigation by the rivers Ouse and Cam to Cambridge, Lynn, Wisbech, St. Ives, Huntingdon and other market.

Ely was constituted a Local Board district 23 July, 1850, but is now governed, under the ' Local Government Act, 1894' (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), by an Urban District Council.

Under the ' Public Health Act,' 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 63), applied by Order in Council in 1850, the city has been drained and supplied with water, mainly by the zeal of Dr. Peacock, then dean: the works and pumping station are at Isleham, the supply bein g derived from springs in the chalk, and the water forced thence into a tank at Ely, from which it is distributed to all parts of the town. To cover the cost, loans were contracted with the Public Works Commissioners of £13,428 in 1885 and £ 6,000 in 1887, repayable in 60 half-yearly instalments. In 1891 the capital debt was reduced to £16,599. The town is lighted with gas from works in Station road, the property of the City of Ely Gas Company Limited.

The diocese of Ely was created in 1108, out of the see of Lincoln, the first bishop being Herveus, Bishop of Bangor, consecrated at Ely, 27th June, 1109: by an Order in Council, 19th April, 1837, the archdeaconries of Bedford and Huntingdon were transfe rred from Lincoln to Ely, and part of the archdeaconry of Sudbury from Norwich; and by a second order, 10th April, 1839, certain other parishes were transferred from Lincoln. The area includes Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire and part of Su ffolk.

The Cathedral of SS. Etheldreda and Peter was originally the church of a convent, founded here in 673 by Etheldreda, daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, and wife of Ecgfrid, King of Northumbria, and endowed by her with large possessions, incl uding the whole of the Isle of Ely; it was despoiled by the Danes in 879, and refounded in 970 by Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester (963-83). The Norman portion of the church was begun in 1081, by Abbot Symeon, who also laid the foundations of an apsidal choir, and completed the basement of the main-transept: Richard; his successor, completed the choir, making it a square-ended presbytery; he further added the clerestory of the transept, and probably also a central tower over a new choir, and erected t he greater part of the nave: in 1106, the year preceding his death the relics of St. Etheldreda were translated into the new shrine in the presbytery, which stood immediately under a boss in the vaulting of the choir which bears her image; the main transe pt was finished about 1083, the nave in 1150, and the west transept and tower in 1107-89, being partly completed by Bishop; Geoffry Ridel (1174-89), who was also a Baron of the Exchequer: the octagonal lantern of the west tower, 643 feet high, is sai d to have been added in the reig n of Henry VI. in place of a spire, removed in 1380: the north wing of the western transept, perfect until the Reformation, either fell or was demolished at some unknown date: in 1234, Hugh Northwold, eighth bishop, began a new presbytery of six bays, w hich was dedicated September 17th, 1252, in the presence of Henry III.; on February 12th, 1322, the central Norman tower fell, destroying the choir, upon which Alan de Walsingham, the sacristan, in 1322-8, replaced the tower by the present octagon and lantern, at a cost of £2,406 3s. IId.; and Bishop Hotham (1316-37) rebuilt the three bays of the Norman presbytery, which was finished in 1381, at a cost of £ 2,034 12s. 8d. and thenceforth used as a choir: the stallwork of the choir was erected by Richard de Saxmundham in 1338-46, and the lady chapel, begun by John of Wisbeach on March 25, 1321, was completed in 1349: Bishop Barnet (1366-73) added Decorated windows in the presbytery, and Bishop Gray (1445-78) those in the aisles: of the two eastern chapels, that of Bishop Alcock was built in 1488: and Bishop West's in 1534: in 1643, Cromwell, then governor, prohibited the choir service, and swept out the congregation, and in 1647, the Parliament proposed to sell the materials o f the church for the relief of the maimed soldiers of the Commonwealth.

The palace, built by Bishop Alcock before 1500, consists of two wings and a hall, and has a gallery 100 feet in length, added by Bishop Goodrich (1534-54); the extremity of each wing , facing the road, forms a kind of tower of four stages, that on the east side having a rich triple canopy in the second story and above this the arms of Alcock; in the palace is preserved the famous ' Tabula Eliensis,' a late work of the 16th century, representing 40 knights whom William I. quartered on the abbey, with shields of arms and figures of monks accompanying each knight; there is also a curious picture of the funeral of Bishop Cox in 1581.

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of H enry VIII. a charter was granted, about 1538, and the cathedral, with its revenues and precincts, was given to the Dean and Chapter for perpetual succession; the establishment now consists of a bishop, dean, six canons, four minor canons, eight lay clerk s and 10 choristers. As the Bishop represents the former abbots, and the dean takes the place of the prior, the former occupies the abbot's stall in the angle of the screen on the south side, and the latter the corresponding, or prior's' seat, on the nort h side, and there is consequently no bishop's throne, as in most other cathedrals. The bi-sexcentenary celebration of the foundation of the monastery took place on Friday, October 17th, 1873, being the festival of St. Etheldreda, the foundress, and on th e four following days, when special services were held in the cathedral, with addresses by the diocesan and other bishops: lectures on the history of the fabric were delivered by the late Sir Gilbert Scott R.A. and the late Mr. Edmund Sharpe M.A. and on th e closing day a great meeting of parish choirs was held in the nave: on the south side of the cathedral is an artificial mound called "Cherry Hill," the origin of which is uncertain, but is thought to be the site of the keep of an ancient castle erected for defence of the monastery: it is now covered with trees and shrubs: a winding path leads to the summit, from which a fine view of the surrounding country may be obtained.

Holy Trinity church, formerly the Lady Chapel of the cathedral, is a rectangular edifice of stone, consisting of five cathedral bays, in the Late Decorated style, and was begun in 1321, by John Wisbech, a monk, from a design by Alan de Walsingham, then sub prior, and finished in 1349;its unusual position, northward of the choir, is owing to the circumstance of a public road passing over the ground at the east end of the cathedral which would have otherwise have been its site, and which would then have mad e this cathedral the longest in the world; the interior of the church, to the level of the window sills, is surrounded by a singularly beautiful arcading of canopied ogee arches, richly feathered and inclining forward; the spaces between the windows which are of great size, with finely conceived tracery, are similarly treated, and abo ve spreads a superb vaulting intricately groined, and studded with bosses, illustrating the history of the Virgin, and other subjects; the east window is of seven, and the west is of eight lights; exterior space above each is filled with an arcade of ni ne crocketed arches, and at the west end a similar arcade extends below the window, with other arches and shields at the sides; the whole of these arches retain moulded pedestals, but of the 32 figures which they once supported, none now exist; the building is 100 feet long by 46 wide and 60 feet high, its only fault being its undue width, but this is amply compensated for by the wonderful and exquisite beauty of it's parts and especially for the ' gorgeous and unrivalled series of stone stalls, ' which constitute its choicest feature; there is one bell, dated 1648, and a sanctus bell, inscribed ' Abe gracia plena;' these, however, are not hung above the church, but in a belfry at the school opposite: there are 600 sittings. The register dates from the year 1559. The living is a vicarage; net yearly value £ 165, with residence and including 13 acres of glebe, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter, and held since 1880 by the Rev. Edward Henry Lowe M.A. of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, chaplain of Ely cathedral, and surrogate.

The Church of St. Mary, standing at a short distance from the cathedral, is a building of stone in the transitional and Early English styles, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of seven bays, aisles, south transept, north porch and a western tower w ith hexagonal spire of the Decorated period, containing a clock and 8 bells, of which the 7th was cast in 1670, the third in 1766, and all the others in 1781: in the chancel is an arcaded double piscina and canopied sedilia; a small er but similar piscina remains in the south transept: on the south-west buttress of the tower is a tablet recording the burial of five persons who were executed at Ely in 1816 for robberies at Ely and Littleport during the riots in May of that year: the church was rebuilt about 1215, by Bishop Eustachius, on the site of a former church; the arches of the nave arcades may be his work, but the heavy circular pillars are not improbably part of the original structure; the curious mixture in this church of Norman and Early English features in the arches and columns, is perhaps unique: the building was restored in 1878-9 at a cost of £2,597, and a vestry was added in 1899: it affords 500 sittings. The register dates from the year 1670. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £180, with residence, and including 9 acres of glebe, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter, and held since 1874 by the Rev. John, Franey M.A. of St. John' s College, Cambridge, chaplain of Ely Cathedral, and of Ely Union, surrogate and perpetual curate of Chettisham.

The district church of St. Etheldreda, at Adelaide Bridge, erected in 1883-4 at a cost of £700, is a plain edifice of brick, consisting of nave, south porch and a turret containing one bell: there are sittings for 140 ; the services are conducted by the clergy of Holy Trinity.

The district church of St. Peter, in Broad street, erected in 1890 at a cost of £4,050, is a building, of stone in the Early Decorated style, consisting of chancel, nave south porch, organ chambe r and a south-west turret with hexagonal spire containing one bell: the chancel has a piscina and sedile: the east window is stained and there are 220 sittings.

Ely Theological College, found in 1876, is a handsome building of red brick with stone facings, in the Gothic style, and was opened in 1881 for 20 students. A marble effigy of the late Bishop Woodford was placed in a niche on the outside wall of the chap el in 1886, by the principal and students. The usual period of training for graduates is one year, lectures being given daily, except on Saturdays and Saints' days, by the principal, vice-principal and chaplain. The students preach regularly at the district church at Adelaide Bridge, besides reading the lessons in the city churches; they also give cottage lectures at the almshouses. A sum of £ 270 a year is offered by the bishop in bursaries to deserving students. The college is under the direction of a principal, vice-principal and chaplain; the bishop of the diocese being the visitor. The R ev. Berkeley William Randolph M.A. of Balliol College, Oxford, and hon. canon of Ely, has been principal since 1891.

A parish room for Holy Trinity was erected in Newnham street in 1889 by the vicar; there is also one for St. Mary's in the Cambridge road, built in 1891.

The Catholic church, in Egremont street, was built in 1891, and is dedicated to St. Etheldreda.

Zion Baptist chapel is in High Street passage; the Countess of Huntingdon's in Chapel street, and the Primitive Methodist chapel in Victoria street; the Wesleyan, in Chapel street, was renovated in 1891, at a cost of £600.

A Cemetery of 10 1/2 acres was formed in 1855, at a cost of £3,500, and 5bd acres have since been added at an additional cost of £1,300. The cemetery is under the control of a Burial Board of 15 members.

There are two mortuary chapels connected by a tower, carried on open arches, and surmounted by a spire.

The Shire Hall, built in 1820, is a structure of brick, consisting of a centre and two wings: the former contains apart ments, for holding the courts and public meetings; the north wing is appropriated partly as an armoury for the H Company 3rd (Cambridgeshire) Volunteer Battalion Suffolk Regiment, and the south wing forms a police station; the hall will hold about 250 p ersons. At Fore Hill is a reading room for the public and volunteers. There a militia depot here, and Ely is also a central recruiting station for all branches of the service.

Needham's charity provides education and clothing for poor boys of Ely, and was founded by Mrs. Catherine Needham, of New Arlesford, Hants in 1790, who left land in the parish, originally producing £80 yearly, but now brining in about £ 400 a year, for this purpose. The charity is managed by a body of governors, now comprising the Dean of Ely, Archdeacon Emery, C.M. Bidwell esq., Rev. E.H.Lowe and W.I. Evans esq.; treasurer, A Hall esq.; school master, Mr. Henry S. Boyden.

The Corporation of the Bedford Level, which, though deprived by Act of Parliament, of one half of its jurisdiction, still superintends the drainage of a very large district of marsh land called the South Level of the Fens, has its offices here.

The Corn Exchange, in the Market place, was built in 1847, and a cattle market formed, both of which are the property of the Corn Exchange, Fairs and Cattle Market Co. and are well attended. Thursday is the market day.

The fairs, anciently held on Ascension Day or Holy Thursday and October 29th, the former for three and the latter for nine days, have been reduced to three days each, the May or summer fair commencing on the last Thursday in May, except when that day falls on Holy Thursday, and then the Thursday before, and the October or winter fair on the last Thursday in October.

Parsons's charity, an ancient benefaction, produces upwards of £1,000 net yearly revenue, from lands in Ely and Stretham, out of which the feoffees or governors pay £360 to the National schools for education and clothing, £ 150 to the Ely Dispensary, £10 10s to Addenbrooke' s Hospital, Cambridge, £200 in the distribution of coal to the poor, £40 to the poor people in their almshouses, £75 for general relief to the poor, £ 50 in renting of allotments of land and sub-letting to the poor, and besides this a considerable portion of the charity land is l et to the poor in husbandry allotments: there is also another large charity, derived from estates at Soham and Fordham, left by Benjamin Laney, Bishop of Ely, 1675-77, for the apprenticing of poor children of Ely and Soham to honest trades, the premium n ot to exceed £20.

The boundaries of the city of Ely include 16,734 acres; the population in the Urban district in 1891 was 8,017; the areas of the parishes are - Holy Trinity, 3,798 acres of land and 35 of water; St. Mary, 3,459; Ely College, 33; intermixed lands rated to Holy Trinity and St. Mary, 8,916 acres; the rateable values are of Holy Trinity, £27,092; of St. Mary, £15,370; and of Ely College, £726. The population of the parishes in 1891 was - Ely College, 85; Holy Trinity, 4,864; and St. Mary, 3,059 (including 113 officers and inmates of the workhouse).

Parish Clerks (Trinity church), William Rickwood, Broad street; (St. Mary's church) Arthur Henry Pilgrim, Church lane.

PUBLIC ESTABLISHMENTS.
Almshouses, Parsons', St. Mary's street

Cemetery, New Barns road, Harold Archer, clerk to the burial board; John Knights, curator.

Corn Exchange, Market place, William Williams, lessee; William Kempton, agent

Corn Return Office, West End

County Court Office, Market place; the court is held every two months, in the Shire hall, His Honor William Willis Q.C. judge; George Martin Hall, registrar & high bailiff; William Neathercoat, bailiff & broker of the court; Herbert Bennett, clerk. Th e places in the district are:- Aldreth, Black Horse Drove, Coveney, Dairy Houses, Downham, Dunstalls, Earith Bridge, Grunty Fen, Haddenham, Hermitage, Hill Row, Littleport, Mepal & Fen, Burnt Fen Station, Old Middle Fen Bank, Oxlode, Prickwillow, Pyemoor, Quaney, Queen Adelaide, Redmere, Shippy Hill, Staples Lays, Stretham & Fen, Stuntney & Fen, Sutton & Fen, Thetford & Fen, Wardy Hill & Fen, Wentworth, Witcham Gravel & Fen, Witchford & Fen & Wilburton.

For Bankruptcy purposes this court is included in that of a Cambridge; Howard William Cox, 5 Petty Cury, Cambridge, official receiver.

Certified Bailiffs appointed under the ' Law of Distress Amendment Act," William, New Barns road; George Comins, St. Mary's street

City Fire Brigade, St Mary' s green, William McKelvie, superintendent & 10 men.

County Police Station, Lynn road, Herbert Roythorn, superintendent; Ernest Roythorn, inspector; the Ely division consists of two sergeants & 17 constables.

Dispensary, St. Mary's street, Spencer Clabon Harris L.F.P. & S. Glas. medical officer; Rev. Kenelm Henry Smith, hon. sec.

Fen Office (Bedford Level Corporation), St. Mary' s street, Harold Archer, registrar & expenditor general

Isle of Ely Constabulary Office, Back hill; Lieut.-Col. W. Browne Ferris, chief constable.

MILITARY
Attached to Regimental District No. 12. Depot, Bury St. Edmunds.

Cambridgeshire Militia, 4th Battalion Suffolk Regiment, headquarters, Militia barracks, Silver street; Hon. Col. H. D. Fryer, commanding; Hon. Lieut.-Cols. A. S. Bacchus & W.H.Hurrell, majors; Hon. Major Sir R. C. P. Gethin bart. instructor of musketry ; Capt. Chas. Frederick Lennock, adjutant; Hon. Capt. A. James, quartermaster; Surg.-Lieut.-Col. Frederick Fawssett, jun. M.D. medical officer.

3rd Volunteer Battalion (Cambridgeshire), Suffolk Regiment (H Company), Shire hall, Capt. L. Tebbutt; Rev. William Thomas Rupert Crookham A.K.C.L. acting chaplain; James Lewis, sergeant-instructor.

DIOCESE OF ELY.
1885 Bishop, The Right Rev. Lord Alwyne Compton D.D. The Palace; & Ely house, 37 Dover street, Piccadilly, London W.
1895 Dean, The Very Rev. Charles William Stubbs D.D. The Deanery Archdeacons.
1864 Ely, Ven. William Emery B.D. College, Ely
1869 Sudbury, Ven. Frank Rt. Chapman M.A. College, Ely
1873 Bedford, Ven. Frederick Bathurst M.A. Rectory, Holwell, Hitchin
1874 Huntingdon, Ven. Francis Gerald Vesey LL.D. Castle Hill house, Huntingdon

Canons.
1870 Ven. William Emery B.D. College, Ely
1873 Edward Clarke Lowe D.D. College, Ely
1879 Ven. Frank Robert Chapman M. A. College, Ely
1882 Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick D.D. Regius professor of Hebrew at Cambridge, College, Ely & Selwyn College lodge, Cambridge
1889 Vincent Henry Stanton D.D. Ely professor of Divinity at Cambridge, College, Ely & Trinity college, Cambridge
1892 Right Rev. William Kenneth Macrorie D.D. bishop, College, Ely

PLACES OF WORSHIP, With Times of Services.

The Cathedral Church of St. Etheldreda, 8.15 & 11 a.m. & 4 & 6.30 p.m.; daily at 8.30 & 10 a.m. & 4 p.m.; Wed.' 7.30 p.m. instead of 4.

Holy Trinity Church, Rev. Edward Henry Lowe M.A. vicar; Rev. Thomas Hardy Newby B.A. & Rev. T. Ayton Whitaker, curates; 8 & 11 a.m. & 3 & 6.30 p.m.; daily 7.30 p.m.

St. Etheldreda District Church, Queen Adelade, served from Holy Trinity; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

St. Mary's Church, St. Mary's street, Rev. John Franey M.A. vicar; 8 & 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

St. Peter's District Church, Broad street, served from Holy Trinity; 8 & 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

St. Etheldreda (Catholic), Egremont street, Rev. John J. Freeland, priest; holy communion 8.30 & mass 11 a.m.; catechism 3 & rosary, instruction & benediction 6.30 p.m.; daily mass 8 a.m.; holidays of obligation, mass 9 a.m.

Baptist (Zion), High Street passage, 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m. Countess of Huntingdon's, Chapel street, Rev. William Parker Huddlestone; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.,; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

Primitive Methodist, Victoria street, Rev. Charles Shreeve; 10.45 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Mon. & Thurs. 7.30 p.m.

Wesleyan, Chapel street, Rev. Charles Brighouse; 10.30 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 7 p.m. Salvation Army, Victoria St.; 11 a.m. & 3 & 6.30 p.m.

SCHOOLS.

Ely Theological College; visitor, the Bishop of the Diocese; principal, Rev. Berkeley William Randolph M.A.; vice-principal, Rev. Gerald Wybergh Douglas M.A.; chaplain & bursar, Rev. Arthur Henry Owen McCheane M.A.

The Cathedral Grammar School, commonly called "The King's School, Ely," & founded by King Henry VIII in 1541, now numbers amongst its buildings the stately structure anciently forming the principal entrance to the monastery, & generally known as "Ely Port a;" it stands a little to the south of the cathedral, & is a rectangular pile of three storeys, with square embattled turrets at the angles: the gateway consists of a singl e deep arch, with a postern on the south, & above, in the third storey, is a Decorated window of three lights, flanked on either side by two canopied niches: the remaining windows are small & of two lights each: this gatehouse is said to have been begun about 1366, in the time of Prior Buckton, & was still unfinished in 1397; in 1873 the upper storey was thrown into a single chamber, to serve as a schoolroom, a fives court constructed & the porter's lodge enlarged, & in 1880-1 a hostel of brick & stone , in the Gothic style, called "Hereward Hall," was erected from designs by Mr. Carpenter, architect, on the west side, to hold 60 boys. The Head Master's house, in the Close, will accommodate 15 boarders, & includes amongst other interesting buildings the ' Fare Hall,' which, in the reign of Edward III. was used as a place of entertainment. Among the eminent men educated here may be named James Bentham M.A. author of the ' History of Ely Cathedral' Rev. Frederick William Hawes M.A. headmaster; J.P. Stott B.A. H.L. Gralham B.A., F. Sowels B.A. & A.E. Tompson B.A. assistant masters.

Cathedral Choristers' School, College, for 24 boys, built in 1862, is a building of stone in the college, on the north side of the cathedral, & is supported by the Dean & Chapter; Edmund Sarjeant Boulter, master.

National (boys & girls'), Silver street, for 324 boys & 324 girls; average attendance, 235 boys & 250 girls; James S. Barnett, master; Miss Jane Hughes, mistress.

National (mixed), Adelaide Bridge, built in 1884, for 100 children; average attendance, 53; Ebenezer Gooden, master.

Boys' Free, back hill, founded in 1790 by Mrs. Catherine Needham & affording instruction & clothing for 40 boys, free & for about 60 paying scholars; Henry Samuel Boyden, master.

Infant, Broad street, erected in 1863, for 150 children; average, 136; Miss Jane Elizh. Beazley, mist.

Infant, Market street, erected in 1868, for 230 children; average attendance, 185; Mrs. Emma Cross, Egremont street, mistress.

NEWSPAPER.
Ely Gazette, 6a, Market hill, Cambridge, Cambridge Independent Press (Hatfield & Co.), publishers; published Friday.

CONVEYANCE.
G.E. Railway Station, William Starling, station master Omnibuses from the Bell hotel & Lamb hotel meet all trains

CARRIERS.
Coveney-Westcombe, Thurs. Downham-Thompson, from Lamb tap, Thurs. & Sat. & Russell, from ' King' s Arms,' Thurs. Earith-West, from City Temperance hotel, Thurs. Isleham-Wells, from ' White Hart,' Thurs. Littleport-Washington, from Bell tap & ' King William IV,' daily, except Tues. Prickwillow-Taylor, from ' George & Dragon,' Thurs. Pyemore & Oxlode-Harrison, from ' Chequers,' Thurs. Southery-Cattermole & Gilbey, from ' White Hart,' Thurs. & Flack, from 'Dolphin,' Thurs. Stretham-Lowe & Sennitt, from ' Dolphin' & ' Crown & Anchor,' daily, except Mon. Thetford (near Ely)-Lowe, 'Dolphin,' daily, except Mon. Wentworth-Cockle, from 'Peacock,' Thurs. Welney-Jackson, from City Temperance hotel, Thurs. Wicken-Adams, from 'Woolpack' Thurs. Sutton & Co.'s Agent, W. Gotobed, St. Mary's street.

WATER CONVEYANCE.
Cambridge, Lynn, St. Ives, Bury St. Edmunds, Bedford & Huntingdon - By boats & lighters.

* Kelly's Directory of Cambridgeshire 1900 (London: Kelly's Directories Limited, 1900), pp.120-127.