The wars they have fought, and the flags they have flown, may carry upward with chills of an appearance long forgotten and almost unknown. But remember, foward hope without segregate plans, may lead to distruction without helping hands.
Genesis
William the Conqueror led his army to Ely, then an island in the Fens, and was three times foiled by Hereward in
the attempt to build a causeway
across the marshes. The third time, while William was encamped at
Brandon, Hereward rode there on his horse, a noble beast called Swallow, on the way meeting a potter, who agreed to exchange
clothes with him and lend him his wares. In this disguise Hereward got
into William's camp and overheard his plans (as according to legend
King Alfred disguised himself as a harper to enter the camp of the
Danes). When William built his third causeway, and proceeded to send
his soldiers along it to attack Ely, Hereward's men, hidden in the
reeds, set fire to the vegetation.
The Normans were engulfed by the flames,
and those who tried to escape were either drowned in the marsh or
picked off by English arrows.
In 1109 Ely became a cathedral as part of the Norman reforms of
the English church.
Every part of the ground–plan and elevation was set out using
ratios like the Golden Section
to ensure that the whole was completely harmonious.
The Monk's Door at the east end of the aisle
has swirly foliage patterns in the carving. These are similar to the
patterns in the 12th–century painting on a nearby section of the
south aisle vault. The monks didn't do stone carving or
wall–painting (that was done by professional craftsmen, just like
today's builders). But, the similarity between these motifs and a
manuscript that was made by the monks suggests that the monks provided
the patterns for the craftsmen to work from.
The Monk's Door is partially covered by a large buttress and there is a blocked doorway in
the transept wall to the right. This buttress was added in the
1320s to support the Octagon lantern that was then being built over the
crossing, but before that the blocked doorway led into the a vestry in
the transept. Blocked doors are good clues to the history of a building
because they can tell us about how the building was used in the past.
Waiting in silence for the door
to be opened again...
The next major event in Ely's history was the reordering of the choir
in 1770–71 when the pulpitum
screen was removed, and the choir stalls moved out of the
Octagon to the Far East end of the choir. This arrangement lasted less
than 100 years. In 1847 George Gilbert Scott began a major restoration
of the cathedral. His work included moving the choir stalls to their
present position, installing the new
gilded iron screen, and laying the geometric marble and tile
floor. The new nave ceiling was added a few years later. Structural
work, including the reinforcement of the west tower and the rebuilding
of the lantern, was also done at this time.
Source