Ely Cathedral | Page 5

the
treachery of the abbot Thurstan. Simeon, though a very old man when
he was appointed abbot, laid the foundation of a new church (the
present Cathedral) A.D. 1083, as his brother Walkelin, bishop of
Winchester, had done there about four years before; he lived to the age
of one hundred years, and died in 1093; after this a vacancy of seven
years occurred, during which the revenues were claimed for the use of
the king (William II.) after whose death the work was continued by
Richard, the tenth and last abbot, who was appointed on the accession
of Henry I. A.D. 1100, and governed the monastery seven years, and

his church is said by Thomas of Ely[5] to have been one of the noblest
in the kingdom, and a marvel of architectural skill; and was sufficiently
far advanced to allow him to translate into it on the 17th of October,
1106, the remains of Etheldreda and her companions and canonized
successors, placing them behind the high altar in the new presbytery,
with great pomp and ceremony. Further progress was made under
Hervè le Breton, formerly Bishop of Bangor, who was appointed
administrator to the monastery after the death of Richard.
[Footnote 5: Liber Eliensis, ii.]
Hitherto, spiritual jurisdiction over the Isle of Ely had been claimed by
the Bishop of Lincoln, but Abbot Richard obtained the consent of the
king (Henry I.) to a scheme for converting the abbacy into a bishopric;
and after much negociation, the change was effected in 1109, by the
appointment of Hervè (then administrator) as the first Bishop of Ely.
He set himself energetically to the task of settling the government of
his See, and of apportioning the lands and revenues of the monastery
between the monks and himself, with a keen eye to his own interests
and those of his successors.
At the time of the conversion of the abbacy into a bishopric, when the
Conventual Church became a Cathedral, the number of monks was
about fifty, though the usual number was seventy; of these the chief in
subordination to the Bishop, was the Prior, (sometimes styled the Lord
Prior) who had the superintendence over all the inferior members; and
next, the Sub-Prior, or Prior's deputy, to assist him when present and
act for him in his absence. The other officers were, the Sacrist, who had
the care of the books, vestments, plate, and ornaments belonging to the
church, as well as the superintendence of the buildings; the Cellarer,
who procured all the necessaries for the living of the community; the
Chamberlain, who provided their clothes, beds, and bedding; the
Almoner, who distributed the charities of the monastery; the Precentor,
who regulated the singing and the choristers; the Hosteller, who
entertained strangers; the Infirmarer, who had the charge of the sick;
and the Treasurer, who received the rents and other means of revenue,
and made the disbursements.

We have endeavoured briefly to bring down our history from the period
of the introduction of Christianity into East Anglia, and the foundation
of the monastery, to the time when the present Cathedral was
commenced and some way advanced; we will follow it up with a brief
account of the periods of erection of this noble edifice, reserving the
more particular description of the several parts for our survey of the
building.
There is no Cathedral in England which possesses finer examples of the
various successive styles of ecclesiastical architecture than that of Ely;
affording excellent opportunities of judging of the comparative merits
of each. The Norman portion of the building--the Nave and Transept--is
lighter in character than earlier examples of the same style; indeed, in
many places it bears marks of transition from the round to the pointed
style. Of each of the several periods of what is usually termed Pointed,
or Gothic, Ely Cathedral possesses pure and perfect specimens: the
Galilee, or western porch, and the Presbytery were built when the Early
English style was perfected: the Octagon, the three bays of the stalled
Choir, and the Lady Chapel, when the Decorated English prevailed:
and the chapels of bishops Alcock and West when the Perpendicular
style was adopted. "It will be thus seen that this remarkable structure
completely illustrates the history of church architecture in England
from the Conquest to the Reformation," viz., Norman, A.D. 1066-1150;
Transitional, 1150-1200; Early English, 1200-1300; Decorated,
1300-1460; Florid, or Perpendicular, 1460-1550.[6]
[Footnote 6: The periods were thus divided by the late Mr. Sharpe:
Norman, A.D. 1066-1145; Transitional, 1145-1190; Lancet, 1190-1245;
Geometrical, 1245-1315; Curvilinear, 1315-1360; Rectilinear,
1360-1550.]
The Cathedral was commenced, as before stated, in A.D. 1083, by
Simeon, in the Norman style; the Choir, with its apse or semicircular
end--altered however to a square end before it had proceeded far--the
central Tower, the great Transept, and part of the Nave