Ely Cathedral Part 17

d.i.c.kson, then those occupied by the Rev. R. Winkfield, including the house standing a few feet in retreat, originally part of the prior's residence, which adjoins the western end of the Deanery; the remaining s.p.a.ce to the south-west Transept being occupied as a private garden by the Dean. On our left are the gardens belonging to the Bishop's Palace; and this brings us to the west end of the Cathedral, from whence we started on our tour of observation.

The Cathedral is too much enc.u.mbered by buildings to allow us to take the whole of it into view from any one position; but several good points of view may be found at moderate distances, ranging from south-west to east, which will, we think, amply repay those who may have leisure and inclination to go a short distance to observe them.

Having endeavoured to point out, to the best of our ability, the objects most worthy of notice in the Cathedral, as well as others around it within the precincts of the ancient monastery, we will add a brief notice of a few other buildings which are without the precincts, but should not be pa.s.sed without some observation.

+The Bishop's Palace.+

This is a large mansion consisting of a centre and two wings, nearly adjoining the west end of the Cathedral, being separated from it only by a public road. But little is known of a palace here prior to the time of Bishop Alc.o.c.k, who erected the present wings with a n.o.ble hall or gallery about the end of the fifteenth century: his arms, and those of the see may be seen in the face of the eastern wing. The gallery adjoining the western wing was erected by Bishop Goodrich in the third year of the reign of Edward VI., whose arms appear in stone on the centre of the lower panels of the bay window; on the panel to the right of this are the arms of Bishop Goodrich, and on the left panel, the same arms impaling those of the see; on the left-hand splay panel is carved the "Duty towards G.o.d," and on the right-hand splay panel the "Duty towards our neighbour." The more modern part of the house next the garden is said to have been erected by Bishop Keene, but was perhaps only altered by him, as there was on the eastern side of the part projecting into the garden, a stone door arch apparently much older than this part of the house; and another on the eastern side near the chapel; this has been removed, and now forms the servants'

entrance from "the Green."

The interior of the house has been much improved, and the chapel in the eastern wing fitted up with taste, the windows being filled with stained gla.s.s. The gardens are neat and kept in excellent order. There are in the Palace several portraits of bishops and others, also a curious painting called the "_Tabula Eliensis_" representing the forty knights who were quartered on the monastery by William I., each with his shield of arms, and a monk as his companion. There is also a picture 6 ft. 6 in. long and 2 ft. 2 in. high, representing the funeral of Bishop c.o.x, in 1581. Bishop Turton left by his will two pictures, to remain in the palace; and there is a good library belonging to the see.

Formerly the bishops of Ely had residences at several other places, viz., palaces at Somersham and Downham; Wisbech Castle, and the Manor-houses at Doddington, Fen Ditton, and other places in Cambridgeshire; and Hatfield, and Hadham, in Hertfordshire; there were ten manor-houses and places of residence belonging to the Bishop of Ely at the time of Bishop Barnet. The London residence of the bishops of Ely was formerly in Ely Place, Holborn, which was occupied successively by forty-one bishops, extending over a period of nearly five hundred years; it is now in Dover Street, Piccadilly, in a house built by Bishop Keene, on the site of Albemarle House and other messuages, which were purchased for the see in 1772.

The "Green" in front of the palace was formerly a piece of waste ground; a few years ago it was laid out and planted with shrubs, and fenced off with a neat iron railing, at the expense of Bishop Turton, reserving to the public the right of free admission from eight a.m., until an hour after sunset; this improvement has, we regret to say, through an unfortunate misunderstanding, been done away, and it now presents an appearance of desolation and neglect much to be deprecated. We hope something may be done in order to remedy this sad state, and render it more worthy of its position in front of one of the n.o.blest Cathedrals in England, and of the residence of the chief pastor of a large and important diocese.

The house standing in a garden with iron gates, nearly opposite the bay window in the palace stands upon the site of the residence of the chaplains of an ancient chantry founded by Bishop Northwold, called "The Chantry on the Green."

[Ill.u.s.tration]

+St. Mary's Church.+

This church will be found a short distance to the westward of the Palace, standing in a large grave-yard with a row of lime trees in front. It is a neat building having a Nave with aisles, a Chancel and a Tower surmounted by a spire at the west end. The Church is a mixture of the Transitional and Early English styles, but the Tower and Spire are in the Decorated style. It was built by Bishop Eustachius in the early part of the thirteenth century on the site of a former church.

"It contains," says Mr. Millers, "some curious architectural remains, particularly the north and south[55] door arches, which are pointed and decorated with different sorts of Norman mouldings; but the columns have slender detached shafts, united under one capital wreathed with foliage, as in the Early English style. Of this mixture there is no other specimen at Ely, and I have not met with an account of such an one in any other place." "In the Tower of the Cathedral we have the Norman style with pointed arches; in the Galilee, built a very few years after, we have the Early English style; but each of these is perfectly and characteristically distinct: in the interval, between the erection of one and the other, the public taste had undergone a change. It seems as if the work before us had been erected in that interval, and that the architect was disposed to adopt the new style without quitting the old one."[56] The Galilee of the Cathedral was erected about 1215, and it is not improbable that this church was erected shortly before, and as it is stated during the episcopate of the same bishop.

[Footnote 55: This door was blocked up when the Church was repaired in 1829.]

[Footnote 56: Millers' Description of Ely Cathedral, p. 148, 149.]

The columns of the Nave are simple and cylindrical, the capitals are Norman, and nearly similar to some of those in what has been called "The Infirmary," but the high pointed arches which they support are of a shape usual in the age in which this church was built, and some of the mouldings are Early English. The windows in the aisles and clerestory are Perpendicular, probably inserted at a later period, when the church was repaired. The Chancel is Early English, with an inserted Perpendicular east window; there is a double sedile under one trefoil arch, and a double piscina in the south wall.

A chapel on the south side is also Early English; it has a triple lancet east window, and a west window of two lights with a quatrefoil in the head; there is here also a double piscina in the south wall. A portion of this chapel was part.i.tioned off for use as a vestry, but is now thrown open to the church.

The church was repaired and pewed, and a gallery erected on the south side in 1829-30, but this gallery, with another at the west end erected many years before, have lately been removed, the tower arch opened, and the nave restored, the floor raised, and the pa.s.sages and other portions laid with Staffordshire tiles; the nearly flat plastered ceiling is divided into compartments by moulded ribs of wood, and the panels painted in distemper, among the patterns of which may be seen the sacred monogram, the arms of the see and of the Dean and Chapter. The pews erected in 1829 have been removed and replaced by open seats of oak, free to all, and a new oaken pulpit resting on a pillar of stone, the gift of the Bishop, placed against the chancel arch on the south side. A new font, the gift of one friend, and an elegant bra.s.s lectern the gift of another, have a.s.sisted in the general improvement. A fine-toned organ, built by Bishop and Sons, removed from Trinity Church, Paddington, has been erected at the east end of the north aisle, on a site formerly occupied by a large faculty pew belonging to "Chantry House," alluded to in p. 112.

The chancel has been partially rebuilt and thoroughly restored, and fitted with appropriate seats in oak, at the cost of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

The church is warmed by hot water, and lighted by gas. A fine peal of eight bells hang in the Tower. There are no ancient monuments, but a few modern tablets on the walls record the deaths of some former residents of the parish; and a new and elegant memorial bra.s.s has been put up in the chancel to the Rev. Solomon Smith, M.A., Minor Canon of the Cathedral, and for forty years inc.u.mbent of the parish.

The restoration of the church, the purchase of the organ, the fittings, &c., has been effected by subscriptions at a cost of nearly 2500, but a further sum is still required to repair and restore the tower and spire, improve the church-yard, &c.

The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter; the present inc.u.mbent is the Rev. John Franey, M.A. Minor Canon of the Cathedral.

+The Grange.+

The premises adjoining the church-yard on the west stand on part of the ground formerly occupied by "The Grange" of the monastery, and the house is stated to have been at one time the residence of the Protector, Cromwell. The "s.e.xtry Barn," one of the largest in the county, perhaps in the kingdom, stood here, and is stated to have been 291 ft. 6 in. long, and 39 ft. 5 in. wide, inside; it was built about the middle of the thirteenth century, and taken down in 1842, and the s.p.a.ce once occupied by the monastic "farm-yard" is now covered by modern buildings, part of which at least, are used for as good purposes; on one part excellent and commodious National Schools for both boys and girls have been erected, and on another a series of substantial and comfortable Almshouses for aged men and women, inhabitants of Ely.

+St. John's Hospital.+

The site of this hospital is a few hundred yards further west; the remains of it are very scanty, but sufficient to show that the buildings were of an early age, although not enough to enable us to give an opinion as to their form or extent; what is left has been converted into use as farm buildings, one portion near the dwelling house, and another a short distance from it. There were formerly two hospitals in Ely, this dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and another to St. Mary Magdelene, the site of which is now unknown. According to Mr. Bentham, the revenues of the two were united, and the communities a.s.sociated by Bishop Northwold about A.D. 1240, by whose ordinance the united hospital was to consist of thirteen chaplains and brethren, who were to have a common refectory and dormitory, and to wear an uniform habit, and be under the immediate government of the Sacrist of Ely. It seems that this was not, like other hospitals of the kind, dissolved by Henry VIII., for it was held under the mastership of Edward Leedes, the second prebendary of the eighth stall, who was also chancellor of the diocese under Bishop Goodrich, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; he was at the same time chaplain to Archbishop Parker, and Master of Clare Hall, Cambridge; he afterwards obtained from the queen a grant of the hospital, and with the consent of Bishop c.o.x, he surrendered the whole site and possession to his college; his grant to the college was confirmed by the Dean and Chapter in 1562, and the property is now in the hands of the Master, Fellows, and Scholars of Clare College, Cambridge.

APPENDIX I.

THE CATHEDRAL ORGAN.

The following brief account of this fine instrument, furnished by the Rev. the Precentor, may be interesting to many:--

At a very early period the Cathedral or Conventual Church contained an organ or organs: this clearly appears from records preserved among the muniments of the Chapter; and at the dissolution of the Abbey we read that there were "two pair of organs in the Quire, and one pair in the Lady Chapel." It is highly probable, from indications in the stone-work, that one, at least, of these Pre-Reformation organs was placed in the triforium of the present nave, on the north side. It is well known that the Quire at that period extended westward across the Octagon: the organ therefore was situated near the gates, and above the stalls of the ancient Quire, nearly as it is now in the modern Quire. The Great Rebellion swept away organs from Ely, as from all other English Cathedrals; and during this dreary period the Choral Service was suppressed and prohibited. After the Restoration, viz., about the year 1685, a new organ was erected by the celebrated Harris; and it is remarkable that this organ remained in daily use up to the year 1831, without material alteration, not even a swell having been added to the original great and choir. It is worthy of mention, that during the extensive repairs of the Cathedral, conducted by the able architect, Ess.e.x, about the middle of the last century, a proposition to place the organ at the eastern end of the Quire was seriously urged by him on the consideration of the Dean and Chapter. He alleged that the instrument would "conceal much cold unornamented wall!" The condition of Harris' organ had become dangerously crazy when Messrs.

Elliot and Hill were employed to rebuild it, or rather to insert a new instrument in the old case. This they did with great ability and success, and the organ which comprised ten stops in the great, five in each of choir and swell, and one set of pedal pipes, was a fine specimen of the art as it was understood and practised about forty years ago. When the restorations were commenced which have resulted in the present splendid embellishment of the Cathedral, the organ-screen was removed; and in 1851 the organ was re-modelled and altered to the CC compa.s.s, enclosed in its costly and exquisite case of carved oak, and _suspended_ from the triforium of the Choir, above the stalls on the north, or (at Ely) Decani side. Provision was made for an adequate pedal organ, lodged in the triforium gallery, where an admirable site was also secured for the swell-box: the choir organ is _beneath_ the great, and behind it, in a picturesque stone tribune or loft, the organist was seated at the manuals. Three stops, viz. a manual Double of wood and metal, 16 feet tone; a metal Quint of 6 feet; and a Posaune of 8 feet; were added to the great organ, which then possessed a tone of great power and beauty.

By the liberality of the Chapter, the completion and great enlargement of the organ was effected in the year 1867. Messrs. Hill have introduced a new swell of 13 stops throughout, with a pedal organ of adequate dimensions. To this pedal organ the princ.i.p.al inhabitants of the city of Ely contributed the important addition of a Sub-base of 32 feet tone, at a cost of upwards of 80. The whole instrument has 40 sounding stops, and it will be seen from an inspection of the list that every stop, even to the clarionet, is complete and entire, extending through the full compa.s.s of its manual. The tone of the full organ, with swell coupled, is very grand. The reeds, like all the stops of this cla.s.s manufactured by Messrs. Hill, are positively models of smoothness, equality, and power. The two 8 feet reeds of the great, and the 16 feet reed, with the Horn, of the swell, are specimens of which the builders may well be somewhat proud. All the compound stops are very brilliant. Equal temperament has been applied to the tuning.

GREAT ORGAN--CC to F in Alt.

Ft. Pipes.

1. Double Diapason, open metal to GG, 12 feet stopt wood below 16 54

2. Open Diapason, metal 8 54

3. Open Diapason, metal 8 54

4. Stopt Diapason, wood 8 54

5. Princ.i.p.al, metal 4 54

6. Harmonic Flute, metal (vice Quint) 4 54

7. Twelfth, metal 2-2/3 54

8. Fifteenth, metal 2 54

9. Sesquialtera, iii ranks, metal -- 162

10. Mixture, iii ranks, metal -- 162

11. Posaune, metal 8 54

12. Trumpet, metal 8 54