The Isle of Ely
The beautiful city of Ely in the English Fens, is the seat of the diocese of Ely, I decided since I have a few days off to go and have a stomp around the place, since I've always wanted to see it. Ely is a small place only about 15,000 people call it home, but it is a quintessentialy English place.
It is full of narrow winding streets and religious buildings, an old church hospital, Bishops residence and old English pubs, the streets were deserted for the England v Trinidad & Tobago football match and so after seeing the monumental Cathedral I retired to a pub for a few pints!
Ely used to be the only dry land for miles, as it used to be surrounded by marsh lands, swamps and estuaries, hence it's name the 'Isle of Ely'
It was also the last place to fall to William the Conquerer in 1071, 5 years after the battle of Hastings, William then built the first stone Cathedral on the Isle which was completed in 1351. It was the centre of the Peasant's Revolt in 1381 and was briefly the home of Oliver Cromwell in 1636!
It is inspiring to see a part of the heritage of the Anglo-Saxon world and for that matter Christendom!
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