Ely

Ely is a small town in Cambridgeshire that is a short bus ride away from the Cambridge City Centre. Last week, Jeremy and I took an afternoon field trip of our own to check it out. Ely (pronounced "eel-ie") is named for the eels that people used to fish nearby and eat. Apparently eel pie is still made here. We didn't check them out.

Ely is also famous for being home of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England after the English Civil War. We've learned a lot about him since we've been here, and he's a very complicated figure. Click here for a brief overview of who he is if you don't remember: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell

We got to visit a house that was once Oliver's home before he went to Parliament. They have reconstructed it and included lots of good information. They also included some cheesy robots and things, but I didn't include those here.

The living room

Jeremy trying on a helmet replica

Oliver's house from the outside, with a beautiful church nearby (that's not the cathedral).

Where am I? This helmet was huge!

The other main attraction in Ely is the Ely Cathedral. Every city in England has a cathedral pretty much except for Cambridge, which is actually in the diocese of Ely in the Anglican Church. This diocese is celebrating 900 years this year - so it's been here 100 years longer than Cambridge University. We were so impressed by this cathedral's beauty. The other really neat thing is that you can tell this parish is still used and is a working, living church - something you don't see as easily in a place like Westminister Abbey.

The view leading up to the Ely Cathedral

Down the long hall of the cathedral

This cross is supposed to symbolize the long and sometimes winding path we take to God. I loved how the stained glass windows were shining across it.

A beautiful stained glass window. I think Ely's cathedral honestly has the prettiest stained glass of any that we've seen.

Looking up into the dome of the Cathedral

This sculpture is Mary Magdalene greeting Jesus after the Resurrection. I loved the imagery of modern art in this ancient space.

This is one of the old bishops. I mostly took the picture because Jeremy has decided he wants to be buried like this, so take note. It is kind of awesome!

One of the side chapels was set aside to pray for all of those who are tortured and imprisoned. They also had information about Amnesty International. Look closely and you can see the candle has barbed wire around it.

This was done by the same artist who did the other sculpture. This represents Mary responding to God's call in a joyful way. Apparently it was quite controversial - as you know, Mary usually looks more pious than this.

One of the reasons the Ely Cathedral is important is shown above. At the time of the Reformation, Henry VIII wanted all of the icons and statues removed from all churches. Many of them were beheaded or otherwise defaced. Ely Cathedral (which is now Anglican) was located in a Catholic stronghold at the time, so this was really painful here. They left this chapel as is, and now say that it represents times in our lives where we are broken.

An outside view of the Ely Cathedral.