Eltham (St. John the Baptist)
ELTHAM (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the
union of Lewisham, hundred of Blackheath, lathe of
Sutton-At-Hone, W. division of Kent, 8½ miles (S. E.
by S.) from London; containing, with the hamlet of
Mottingham, part of which is in the parish of Chiselhurst, 2310 inhabitants. This place, in Domesday book
called Alteham, is supposed to have derived its name
from the Saxon, Eald, old, and Ham, a dwelling. It
formed part of the royal demesnes in the reign of Edward the Elder, by whom it was given to Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury; and at a very early period became
a favourite retreat of the English kings. Henry III.
kept a grand festival in 1270, attended by his queen and
the whole court, in the palace of Eltham, which was
enlarged by Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham, about the
close of the thirteenth century. Edward II. resided here
for some time, and at this place also his son was born,
from this circumstance called John of Eltham, and the
palace, erroneously, King John's Palace. Edward III.
held parliaments here in 1329 and 1375, and in 1364
sumptuously entertained his prisoner, King John of
France, in the palace. Richard II. here celebrated the
festival of Christmas, in 1384 and 1386, as did Henry
IV. in 1405, on which occasion the Duke of York was
accused of an attempt to surprise and murder the king.
Edward IV. repaired the palace, and inclosed one of the
parks. Henry VII. built a front to it, and otherwise
improved the building; and it continued to be the occasional residence of the sovereign till the reign of Henry
VIII., who celebrated two splendid festivals in it, after
which time it began to yield in importance to Greenwich, which, in the reign of Elizabeth, obtained the
ascendancy. During the civil war in the reign of
Charles I., Eltham was occupied by the Earl of Essex,
the parliamentary general, who died here in 1646. Of
the extent of this once magnificent pile, some idea may
be formed from the parliamentary survey, in which it is
described as having "one fair chapel, one great hall,
forty-six rooms and offices, below stairs, with two large
cellars; and above stairs, seventeen lodging-rooms on
the king's side, twelve on the queen's side, and nine on
the prince's side; thirty-five bayes of building, or
seventy-eight rooms in the offices round the court-yard,
which contained one acre of ground." The principal
remains are the great hall, 100 feet long and 36 wide,
having ten windows on each side and a finely ornamented roof, and which had for many years been used
as a barn, but is now partially restored. The area is
inclosed by a stone wall of great thickness, from 18 to
20 feet in height: the moat by which it was surrounded
was from 70 to 80 feet in breadth, and from fourteen
to fifteen in depth; it is quite dry, and though converted into a garden its original form may be distinctly
traced.
The village is irregularly built, but contains many
handsome houses, and the environs abound with noble
mansions and elegant seats. Near the road from Eltham
to Shooter's Hill, is Savendroog Castle, a square building with angular turrets rising above the battlements,
erected in 1784 to commemorate the taking of the castle
of that name, on the coast of Malabar, in the East
Indies, by Sir William Daines, Bart., commander of the
company's marine forces in those seas, on the 2nd of
April, 1755. It forms a conspicuous and romantic feature in the scenery. Shooter's Hill, so named from its
having been anciently used for the practice of archery,
and on which a singular triangular tower was erected,
by his lady, to the memory of Sir William Daines, is
celebrated for the extent and variety of its prospects.
The parish comprises 4350 acres, of which 449 are in
wood. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the
king's books at £3. 2. 6.; net income, £355; patrons,
the Fryer family; impropriators, the Provost and Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford. The church is a plain
edifice, with a spire: in it were interred the remains of
Dr. Horne, Bishop of Norwich, who died in 1792; and
in the churchyard, those of Sir William Daines, and
Dogget, the comedian, partner with Wilks and Cibber.
There is a place of worship for Independents. A school
was built in 1634, and endowed in 1714 by Elizabeth
Leggatt, with lands producing more than £30 per
annum. An almshouse was founded in 1680, by Thomas
Phillipot, for six aged persons, and endowed with land
now yielding an income of £165. 12.; there are four
other almshouses, and among the benefactions to the
poor are, a grant of land by Henry VII. in 1492, and
another in 1509 by John Passey. On the summit of a
hill, south-by-east from the town, are the remains of a
Roman camp. Dr. William Sherard, the celebrated
botanist, resided here in the early part of the eighteenth
century, and cultivated a botanical garden, assisted by
the German botanist, Dillarius, who published a catalogue of the plants in two volumes folio, under the title
of Hortus Elthamensis, in 1732. The learned herald and
Kentish historian, John Phillipot, also resided here.
Eltisley (St. Pandiania & St. John the Baptist)
ELTISLEY (St. Pandiania & St. John the Baptist),
a parish, in the union of Caxton and Arrington,
hundred of Longstow, county of Cambridge, 2½ miles
(N. W. by W.) from Caxton, and on the road between
Oxford and Cambridge; containing 372 inhabitants.
This place appears to have been yielded up to General
Desbrowe, who married a sister of Oliver Cromwell,
and whose family resided here above 100 years. The
parish comprises about 1938 acres, chiefly arable; 113
acres are common or waste: the surface is level, and
the soil heavy. A nunnery, in which St. Pandiania, the
daughter of a king of Scotland, is said to have been
buried, stood near the vicarage-house, but was destroyed
about the time of the Conquest. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 16. 8.;
net income, £51; patron and impropriator, Samuel
Newton, Esq., whose tithes have been commuted for
£216. 9. The church, which is very ancient, is in the
early English style, with later insertions; the whole was
repaired in 1841. There is a place of worship for
Wesleyans. Near the church, on the south side, was
a famous well, still called "St. Pandiania's," which has
been filled up by rubbish of many years' accumulation.
Elton
ELTON, a township, in the parish of Thornton,
union of Great Boughton, Second division of the
hundred of Eddisbury, S. division of the county of
Chester, 5¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Frodsham; containing 225 inhabitants. The township comprises 1051
acres; the soil in the uplands is a strong marl, and in
other parts sandy. As a commutation for the tithes, a
rent-charge of £108 has been awarded; and there is a
glebe of nearly 25½ acres.
Elton
ELTON, a township, in the parish of Warmingham, union of Congleton, hundred of Northwich, S.
division of the county of Chester, 2¼ miles (W. by S.)
from Sandbach; containing 570 inhabitants. It comprises 1009 acres, of a clayey, sandy, and mossy soil.
The Sandbach station of the Manchester and Birmingham railway is in the township. The tithes have been
commuted for £134.
Elton
ELTON, a chapelry, in the parish of Youlgrave,
union of Bakewell, hundred of Wirksworth, S.
division of the county of Derby, 1¼ mile (W.) from
Winster; containing 536 inhabitants. The manor was
held by the Bardolfs, as lords paramount, by the rendering of a pair of gilt spurs. It passed from them to the
Tibetots, and afterwards to the Stevensons, from one
of whose coheiresses a moiety came to Hylton Joliffe,
Esq.; the other coheiress sold her moiety to William
Brittlebank, Esq. The township comprises 1408 acres
of land: the village is on the summit of a bleak eminence. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income,
£98, partly arising from £200 benefactions, £200 Queen
Anne's Bounty, and £200 parliamentary grant; patrons,
the resident Freeholders: a parsonage-house, a neat
stone building, was erected in 1838. The tithes were
commuted for land, under inclosure acts, in 1763 and
1809. The chapel is dedicated to All Saints, and, with
its square tower, can be seen at a great distance.
Elton
ELTON, a parish, in the union of Stockton, S. W.
division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of
Durham, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Stockton; containing 92 inhabitants. This parish, which derives its
name from Eld, old, and the adjunct town, comprises by
measurement 1300 acres; and is situated on rising
ground, facing the south, and presenting fine views of
the Cleveland hills: stone is quarried for the roads.
The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's
books at £7. 1. 5½., and in the gift of the Rev. Albany
Wade, and T. Jefferson Hogg, Esq., the former having
two turns, and the latter one: the tithes have been
commuted for £170, and the glebe comprises 70 acres.
The church, rebuilt in 1841, in the later English style,
by the Rev. Albany Wade, at a cost of £500, has a fine
Anglo-Norman arch, preserved from the old edifice,
separating the nave from the chancel, in which latter
is an effigy of Sir William Gower, a crusader.
Elton (St. Mary)
ELTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Ludlow, hundred of Wigmore, county of Hereford, 4¾
miles (S. W. by W.) from Ludlow; containing 99 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Wigmore to
Ludlow, and comprises about 1500 acres, of which the
portions of arable and pasture land are nearly equal;
the scenery is very fine, and the plantations are largely
stocked with oak. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £50; patron, E. H. K. Davies, Esq. The
church is a small handsome edifice.
Elton (All Saints)
ELTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of
Oundle, hundred of Norman-Cross, county of Huntingdon, 4¾ miles (N. E.) from Oundle, and 8 (N. W.)
from Stilton; containing 844 inhabitants. It is situated
on the river Nene, near the Peterborough and Northampton railway, and comprises about 3520 acres, whereof
two-thirds are arable, and about 90 acres woodland.
The surface is undulated, rising into hills about twohundred feet above the level of the river; the soil on
the elevated grounds is a strong argillaceous loam. An
iron-foundry employs about twenty hands. The living
is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £23. 9. 2.;
net income, £478: patrons, the Master and Fellows of
University College, Oxford. The church is in the decorated English style, with a fine tower in the later English; it has lately been restored. The Wesleyans have
a place of worship. A school, now conducted on the
national system, was founded and endowed by Francis
and Jane Proby, in 1712, when the former gave land,
and the latter £600 in South Sea annuities, together
producing £40 per annum. An almshouse for four poor
women, endowed with an estate near Lincoln, yielding
£165 per annum, was founded by the Rev. John Cooper
in 1663. The old tower of Elton Hall, a monastic
building, is a fine specimen of the embattled style of the
15th century; there are a rich groined roof in the
kitchen of the Hall, and other remains of a chapel, still
to be seen.
Elton
ELTON, an ecclesiastical district and a township,
in the parish, union, and parliamentary borough, of
Bury, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire;
containing 5202 inhabitants. This township extends on
its south-eastern side into the town of Bury, and is
separated by the river Irwell from the township of
Walmersley. The surface of the land is undulated, the
soil alluvial near the Irwell, and clay in other parts, and
the scenery picturesque: from the higher grounds most
extensive views are obtained. Two collieries and three
stone-quarries are in operation. The inhabitants are
chiefly employed in the cotton and woollen mills on the
banks of the river, and in the extensive bleaching-works
of John Whitehead, Esq., whose family have been located
here for more than two centuries. The cotton-works
at Wood-Hill have two water-wheels of 140-horse power,
but when the river is low, steam-power is used. At
Hinds are logwood-works, with two water-wheels of 40horse power; and these also are worked by steam, when
the stream fails. The Wood-Hill and Hinds mills are the
property of Messrs. Thomas Calrow and Sons, who have
mills also in Walmersley township: the whole of the
persons employed are resident on the premises, and their
habitations form quite a village, on the banks of the
Irwell. Brandlesholme Hall, the ancient seat of the
Greenhalghes, with its gabled front, apparently of the
age of Elizabeth, is built in the usual ornamental style,
of wood, stone, and brick; but its splendour is eclipsed
by the more modern mansions which surround it. The
living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the
Rector of Bury; net income, £150, with a house. The
church, All Saints', was erected in 1843, on a site presented by the Earl of Derby; it is in the Norman style,
with a square tower, and cost £3000, entirely raised by
subscription. The tithes of the township have been commuted for £84. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; also a national school; and a Sunday school: the
latter was established in 1806, and a house for it was
recently built, at a cost of between £300 and £400.
Elton (St. Michael)
ELTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the union, and
N. division of the wapentake, of Bingham, S. division
of the county of Nottingham, 4¼ miles (E. by S.) from
Bingham; containing 81 inhabitants. The living is a
rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 0. 5.; net
income, £286; patron, W. F. N. Norton, Esq. The
tithes were commuted for land in 1807.
Eltringham
ELTRINGHAM, a township, in the parish of
Ovingham, union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale
ward, S. division of Northumberland, 13½ miles (W.
by S.) from Newcastle; containing 87 inhabitants, of
whom 11 are residents in an extra-parochial place
called Masters Close. It comprises 320 acres, and is on
the south side of the river Tyne. About half a mile
west of the village is a fire-brick manufactory. The
Carlisle railway passes through the township. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £56. 2. Thomas
and John Bewick, eminent wood-engravers, were born
here.
Elvaston (St. Bartholomew)
ELVASTON (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the
union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 4½ miles
(S. E. by E.) from Derby; containing 518 inhabitants.
This place was the scene of depredations committed by
the parliamentarian forces, under Sir John Gell, in 1643,
when Elvaston Castle, the seat of Lady Stanhope, was
partly destroyed. The parish is situated on the river
Derwent, and intersected by the road from Derby to
London; and comprises about 2600 acres, of which oneseventh is arable. The soil is a rich loam resting upon
gravel, inclining in those parts near the river to a stiffish
clay; a mile from the river, the depth of the soil is from
three to five feet: the surface is a dead level. There
are some mines of plaster, but not now wrought. The
Burrow-Ash station of the Midland railway abuts on the
parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £5. 3. 9.; net income, £155; patron,
the Earl of Harrington, who is lord of the manor, and
owner of nearly the whole parish. The glebe comprises
43¾ acres, situated in Draycott, three miles distant; with
three acres around the glebe-house, which is a good
residence. The church is an ancient structure, with
the original screen and rood-loft between the nave and
chancel still remaining. There is a place of worship for
Wesleyans.
Elvedon, or Elden (St. Andrew)
ELVEDON, or Elden (St. Andrew), a parish, in
the union of Mildenhall, hundred of Lackford, W.
division of Suffolk, 3½ miles (S. W. by W.) from
Thetford; containing 240 inhabitants. It comprises by
measurement 5552 acres, chiefly arable, with a portion
of woodland. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £12. 17. 6.; net income, £298; patron,
W. Newton, Esq., proprietor of the parish. The church
is in the early English style, with a tower of flints, but
has undergone much alteration and repair. This place
conferred the title of Viscount on Admiral Keppel, who
had a seat here.
Elvetham
ELVETHAM, a parish, in the union of HartleyWintney, hundred of Odiham, Odiham and N. divisions
of the county of Southampton, 1¼ mile (S. S. E.) from
Hartford-Bridge; containing 552 inhabitants. The parish comprises 3194 acres, of which 1182 are common
land or waste. The surface is intersected from north to
south by a range of gently rising hills, on the flat summit of one of which is Hartford-Bridge, and the vale
beneath is watered by a small brook that frequently
overflows its banks; the soil in the higher grounds is
mostly gravel, and in the lower a rich loam, alternated
with sand, and in some parts peat. Elvetham Park,
the seat of Lord Calthorpe, was the residence of Lord
Hartford, who in 1591 sumptuously entertained Queen
Elizabeth for four days in his splendid mansion. The
living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9, and
in the gift of Lord Calthorpe: the tithes have been commuted for £300, and the glebe comprises 13a. 3r. 35p.
The church is an ancient structure. Schools are chiefly
supported by his lordship; and a fund arising from
bequests made by the family, is applied in the distribution of bread, clothing, and blankets, among the poorer
inhabitants of the parish.
Elvington (Holy Trinity)
ELVINGTON (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the wapentake of Ouse and Derwent, union, and E. riding, of
York, 7 miles (E. S. E.) from York; containing 478 inhabitants. This place derives its name, according to
some, from the ancient eel-fisheries in the district; according to others, from Aluf, a Saxon, to whom Elvington,
then written Alvintone, is described in Domesday book
as belonging: some, again, deduce it from the Latin
Alveus. The parish comprises 2246a. 3r. 17p., of which
1426 acres are arable, 470 pasture and meadow, 172
inclosed, but uncultivated, moorland, and 177 wood and
plantations. The surface is generally level, and the soil
various, comprehending rich alluvial meadow-ground,
locally called Ings, adjoining the river; a friable loam on
the acclivity; and a strong clay suitable for wheat and
beans; while a portion is poor sand and heath. The
Derwent, which forms the eastern boundary of the
parish and manor, abounds with fine salmon, for which,
and lampreys, there is a fishery of very ancient establishment; large sturgeon, also, some weighing 14 stone,
have occasionally been caught. The Hall was, for a considerable time anterior to the close of the last century,
the property and seat of the Sternes, from a junior
branch of which family was descended the author of
Tristram Shandy, who was maintained at the university
of Cambridge by his cousin, Sterne, of Elvington. The
village is pleasantly built on an acclivity rising from the
western bank of the Derwent, and contains several good
and substantial houses, with about 70 neat brick cottages.
The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's
books at £5. 17. 2., with a net income of £280: the
patronage is in the Lord Chancellor. The tithes were
commuted for land and a small money payment, under
an act of inclosure, in 1769; the glebe consists of 238a.
3r. 13p., of which 50 acres are wood. The church is a
neat plain building, erected in 1803, by the Rev. A.
Cheap, then rector, who contributed two-thirds of the
expense, and by whom the glebe-house was also built.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Elwick
ELWICK, a township, in the parish of Hart, union
of Stockton, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S.
division of the county of Durham, 9¼ miles (N. by E.)
from Stockton; containing 238 inhabitants. Robert
de Brus gave "Ailewic" in "Hertenes," in frank marriage
with his daughter Agatha, to Ralph, son of Ribald,
of Middleham; and from the descendants of this Ralph
the manor passed to the Nevills, with whom it remained,
though by means of remote heirs, till the 16th century. The township comprises about 1940 acres: the
village is scattered on the western edge of the parish of
Hart, separated by a deep dell from the church and
parish of Elwick-Hall. The impropriate tithes have
been commuted for £63, and the vicarial for £16.
Elwick
ELWICK, a township, in the parish of Belford,
partly in the union of Belford, N. division of Bambrough ward, and partly in the union of Berwick-OnTweed, Islandshire, N. division of Northumberland,
2¼ miles (N. E. by N.) from Belford; containing 84
inhabitants. It is situated at the southern extremity of
Islandshire, on Budle bay, on the sands of which are
very large cockles, known by the name of Budle cockles.
The tithes have been commuted for £93.
Elwick-Hall, or West Parish (St. Peter)
ELWICK-HALL, or West Parish (St. Peter), a
parish, in the union of Stockton, N. E. division of
Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham,
4 miles (N.) from Wolviston; containing 165 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Stockton
to Sunderland, and comprises 4321a. 3r. 18p., of which
about 3250 acres are arable, 70 woodland and plantations, and the remainder meadow and pasture. The
surface is boldly varied, rising into hills of considerable
elevation, of which one to the north-west of the church,
called the Beacon Hill, commands an extensive view of
the Cleveland hills and the sea, with the mouth of the
river Tees, and the bold headlands of Huntcliffe and
Rowcliffe. The soil is generally a cold clay, and the
principal crops are wheat and oats. The living is a
rectory, valued in the king's books at £20. 18. 1½.,
and in the gift of the Bishop of Durham: the tithes
have been commuted for £267. 15., and the glebe
comprises 367 acres. The church, which is situated
on an eminence rising from a narrow dell that separates
it from the village of Elwick, in the parish of Hart, is
an ancient structure with a low massive tower at the
angle of the south aisle. In the churchyard is a vault
containing the remains of Sir James Allan Park, judge
of the court of common pleas from 1816 till his death,
on the 8th of December, 1838.
Elworthy (St. Martin)
ELWORTHY (St. Martin), a parish, in the union
of Williton, hundred of Williton and Freemanners,
W. division of Somerset, 5¼ miles (N.) from Wiveliscombe; containing 210 inhabitants. It is beautifully
situated within five miles of the Bristol Channel, and
comprises by computation nearly 1600 acres. The
living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 6. 8.,
and in the patronage of John Kendrick, Esq.: the tithes
have been commuted for £230, and the glebe comprises
66 acres. The church is a neat structure. About a
mile hence are the Elworthy Burroughs, a British encampment on the summit of Brendon Hill; and there
are several tumuli near the site.
Ely
ELY, a city, and the head
of a union, in the Isle of
Ely, county of Cambridge,
16 miles (N. N. E.) from
Cambridge, and 67 (N. by
E.) from London; containing 6825 inhabitants. This
place, which is the capital
of an extensive district in
the Fens, comprising the
greater part of the northern
division of Cambridgeshire,
is supposed to have derived
its Saxon name Elig either from the British Helyg, a
willow, with which tree, from the marshy nature of the
soil, it especially abounded, or, according to Bede, from
Elge, an eel, for which fish it was equally remarkable.
Ethelreda, daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles,
founded a monastery here, in 673, for monks and nuns,
which she dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary; and,
though married to Egfrid, King of Northumbria, devoted herself to a monastic life, and became the first
abbess. A great part of it was destroyed by the Danes
in 870, but it was partially restored by some of the
monks who escaped the massacre, and established themselves as secular priests, under the government of provosts, for nearly a century. In 970, Ethelwold, Bishop
of Winchester, having purchased from Edgar the whole
of the Isle of Ely, repaired or rebuilt and munificently
endowed the monastery, placing in it an abbot and
regular monks, to whom Edgar granted the secular
jurisdiction of two hundreds within and five hundreds
without the Fens, with many important privileges, which
were confirmed by Canute, and increased by Edward
the Confessor, who had here received part of his education.
Seal.
Soon after the Conquest, many of the English nobility,
unable to brook the tyranny of William, retired in 1071
to this place, whence, at the instigation of Edwin, Earl of
Chester, and Egelwyn, Bishop of Durham, they ravaged
the adjacent country, headed by Hereward, an English
nobleman, who built a castle of wood in the marshes,
and made a vigorous stand against the monarch.
William besieged the Island, constructed roads through
the marshes, built bridges over the streams, and erected
a castle at Wiseberum (Wisbech); by which means he
ultimately compelled his opponents, with the exception
of Hereward and that leader's immediate followers, to
submit to his authority. The camp occupied by William
upon this occasion, and which Dr. Stukeley affirms to
have been a Roman camp repaired by his engineers, is
still visible in a field at Aldreth, which, in some records
of the time of Henry III., is called Belasis, probably
from one of William's generals, who was quartered on
the monastery. On his conquest of the Isle, the king
took possession of the abbey, but suffered the monks to
remain, with certain restrictions, under an abbot of his
own appointment, at whose intercession he subsequently
restored the privileges they had previously enjoyed.
Richard, the tenth and last abbot, a short time prior to
his death, obtained from Henry I. permission to establish a see at Ely, which in 1107 was carried into
effect, and Hervey, who had been driven by the Welsh
from his see at Bangor, was made first bishop. To him
and his successors Henry gave for a diocese the whole
county of Cambridge, which had belonged to the Bishop
of Lincoln, and they were invested with sovereign
powers in the Isle. On the accession of Hervey, who
superseded the abbot, a new division of lands belonging
to the abbey took place, between the bishop and the
prior and monks; the bishop's share was, in the 26th of
Henry VIII., valued at £2134. 18. 6., and that of the
prior and monks at £1301. 8. 2. A castle was built
here by Bishop Nigel in the reign of Stephen, of which
there are no remains, its probable site being only distinguishable by a mount to the south of the church.
In 1216, William Bunk and a party of Brabanters,
together with the Earl of Salisbury and others, taking
advantage of a frost, entered the Isle of Ely, plundered
the churches, and committed dreadful ravages, compelling the inhabitants to pay large sums of money for
the ransom of their lives, and the prior 200 marks to
save the cathedral from being burnt.
The city stands on elevated ground nearly at the
southern extremity of the Isle, and on the river Ouse,
which is navigable from Lynn; it consists of one long
street, with smaller streets diverging from it, both in
the upper and lower parts of the town, in the centre of
which is a spacious market-place. With the exception
of the cathedral and ecclesiastical buildings, the town
has few claims to architectural notice; but it has rapidly
improved of late years, and is now well paved, and
lighted with gas. The ground in the vicinity, though
flat and low, is extremely fertile, producing excellent
herbage, and a considerable portion of it is cultivated by
market-gardeners, who supply the neighbouring towns
with vegetables: great quantities of fruit and remarkably
fine asparagus are sent to the London market. From
the improvement in the drainage of the Fens, the air of
the city, and indeed of the whole Isle, has become as
salubrious as that of any part of the county. The trade
has very much improved of late: vessels now come up
to the town; and a dock has been constructed, capable
of accommodating 18 or 20 vessels of 70 or 80 tons'
burthen, and which has been sold to the Eastern Counties Railway Company. The line of railway from London to Brandon runs by the town; and there are three
other lines, namely, those from Ely to Downham and
Lynn, to March and Peterborough, and to St. Ives and
Huntingdon. Here is a manufactory for earthenware
and tobacco-pipes. There is a good market on Thursday; and fairs are held on Ascension-day and Oct. 29th,
for horses, cattle, hops, and Cottenham cheese, each
lasting for eight days.
Under the Charter of privileges granted to the
monastery by Edgar in the 13th of his reign, enlarged
and confirmed by Edward the Confessor and William
the Conqueror, the abbot continued to exercise temporal
jurisdiction from the time of the re-establishment of the
monastery till the erection of the see, from which period
it became vested in, and was exercised by, the bishops
of the diocese. The bishops had additional powers; and
the royal franchise of Ely, in several statutes, was designated the County Palatine of Ely, till the 27th of Henry
VIII., when, by act of parliament, the justices of oyer
and terminer and gaol delivery, and justices of the
peace for the Isle of Ely, were ordered to be appointed
by letters-patent under the great seal, and all writs to
be issued in the king's name. Certain jurisdiction,
both in civil and criminal matters, was still vested in
the bishops, who with their "temporal steward" of the
Isle, were by the same act to be justices of the peace;
and a general assize of oyer and terminer and gaol
delivery was to be holden twice in the year, and a court
of pleas for the trial of civil actions to any amount; also
quarterly courts of session alternately at Ely and Wisbech. The bishop was likewise Custos Rotulorum of the
Isle, which includes the three hundreds of Ely, Wisbech, and Witchford. All this temporal jurisdiction has,
however, by a late statute, been abolished; and the
Custos Rotulorum is now appointed by the crown, as are
the magistrates, who hold their quarter-sessions alternately at Ely and Wisbech, as heretofore, though the assizes have been transferred to Cambridge. The bishop
had also the appointment of the two coroners for the
franchise, but these are, by the above statute, to be in
future elected by the freeholders of the Isle. The
powers of the county debt-court of Ely, established in
1847, extend over the registration-district of Ely. The
court-house, erected in 1821, is a handsome and commodious building, with a portico of four columns, and
two wings, of which the north is an infirmary, and
the south a chapel. The house of correction is situated
behind the court-house, and was erected at the same
time.
At the dissolution of the
monastery, which was dedicated to St. Peter and St.
Ethelreda, Henry VIII. altered the ecclesiastical establishment of the See, and
by charter converted the
conventual into a cathedral
church, which was dedicated
to the Holy Trinity; he endowed it with the site and
a portion of the revenue of
the dissolved priory; and
under his charter, remodelled by Charles II., the establishment consists of a dean, eight (to be reduced to six)
canons or prebendaries, five minor canons, eight layclerks, eight choristers, a schoolmaster, usher, and
twenty four king's scholars. The diocese comprises 539
benefices, of which 169 are in Suffolk, 167 in Cambridgeshire, 117 in Bedfordshire, and 86 in Huntingdonshire:
the bishop has the patronage of the four archdeaconries,
the chancellorship, and four canonries. The Dean and
Chapter have the patronage of the minor canonries.
The two first canonries that become vacant will be appropriated to the professorships of Hebrew and Greek
in the University of Cambridge; and the two that next
become vacant will be suppressed.
Arms of the Bishopric.
The Cathedral, begun in 1081, and not completed
till 1534, is a splendid cruciform structure, displaying,
through almost imperceptible gradations, the various
changes which have characterised the progress of ecclesiastical architecture, from the earliest times of the
Norman to the latest period of the English style. The
plan differs from that of other cathedrals in the length
of the nave, which is continued through an extended
range of twelve arches, and in the shortness of the transepts, which have only a projection of three arches.
The west front, though incomplete from the want of the
south wing of the facade, is strikingly magnificent; the
lower part is in the Norman style, with a handsome
octagonal turret at the southern extremity, a projecting
porch of early English architecture, and a lofty massive
and highly-enriched tower with angular turrets, of
Norman character in the lower stages, and in the upper
of early English, formerly surmounted by a lofty spire,
which has been taken down. From the intersection of
the nave and transepts rises a noble octagonal lantern,
which is considered one of the finest compositions in
the decorated English style, and equally admirable for
the excellence of its details and the beauty of its arrangement; it is eighty feet in diameter, and rests on
piers which supported a tower that fell down in 1322.
The interior of the cathedral is singularly elegant, and
derives a simple grandeur of effect from the judicious
arrangement by which the various styles of its architecture are made to harmonise. The nave and transepts are in the Norman style. The choir, partly in
the early and partly in the decorated English style, is
separated from the nave by three of the western arches,
which were originally part of it, and now form an antechoir. The eastern part, or present choir, consisting of
a range of six arches, is lighted by a double range of
windows, and forms one of the richest specimens of the
early English style extant; the roof is groined, and the
intersections embellished with flowers and foliage; the
east window is ornamented with a painting of St. Peter.
The three western arches forming the ante-choir are of
the decorated character, and assimilate with the beautiful
lantern, with which the style of the nave and transepts
is finely contrasted. A magnificent painted window, presented by the Rev. Edward Sparke, occupies the southeast angle of the lantern; it is forty feet in height, and
is intended to commemorate the foundress of the church,
St. Ethelreda. The Lady chapel is an elegant edifice, in
the later decorated style; the groining of the roof, and
the series of niches surrounding the interior, are of exquisite beauty. The chapels of Bishops Alcock and West
are elaborately decorated with a profusion of architectural embellishments, but inferior in general effect to
other portions of this beautiful structure. There are
many interesting monuments, among which are, the
tomb and effigy of Bishop Alcock, under an arch of
stone, on the north side of his chapel: the monuments
of several other bishops; and the tomb of Tiptoft, Earl
of Worcester, and his two wives, erected in the time of
Richard III.: a fine monument, also, has lately been
erected in Bishop West's chapel, over the remains of
Bishop Sparke. The length of the cathedral is 535 feet,
from east to west; and the breadth 190, from the extremity of the north to that of the south transept. Extensive alterations and improvements have been made of
late: since the accession of the present dean, Dr. Peacock,
more than forty windows have been restored; some new
painted windows have been raised, and at the west end
especially, most important restorations have been effected.
Of the cloisters and chapter-house there are scarcely any
remains, and the refectory has been converted into a
residence for the dean; but the prebendal houses retain
many vestiges of ancient architecture, of which some are
supposed to be of Saxon origin; and among these buildings is a chapel, erected by Prior Craunden, a curious
composition in the decorated English style, of excellent
design, and abounding with interest: the floor is of
Mosaic pavement, still in a very perfect state, representing some of the earlier subjects of Scripture history.
At some distance from the cathedral is the gate of the
ancient monastery, in the later English style.
The city, exclusively of the extra-parochial liberty of
the College, containing 64 residents, comprises the parish
of St. Mary, which, with the chapelry of Chettisham,
contains 2124; and the parish of Holy Trinity, which,
with the chapelry of Stuntney, contains 4637, inhabitants.
Both benefices are perpetual curacies, in the patronage
of the Dean and Chapter; net income of each, £150.
St. Mary's church is an interesting structure, partly
Norman and partly early English, with a handsome tower
surmounted by a spire: the nave is in the Norman
style, with clerestory windows of later English architecture; the chancel is in the early English style, with
insertions of a later date, and contains some remains of
the ancient stalls: the north porch and door are early
English. Holy Trinity church was formerly the Lady
chapel of the cathedral, now fitted up for the parishioners.
There are places of worship for Baptists, the Countess
of Huntingdon's Connexion, Independents, and Wesleyans. The king's grammar school was founded in
1541, by Henry VIII., on the establishment of the
cathedral, and is under the Dean and Chapter, who
appoint the master: Jeremy Bentham, the late celebrated jurist and political writer, received the rudiments
of his education in the school. A school was founded
and endowed in 1730, by Mrs. Needham; Bishop
Laney, in 1674, left lands and tenements for apprenticing
boys of Ely and Soham, and there are several other
charitable bequests belonging to the city. The poor
law union comprises fourteen parishes or places, and
contains a population of 20,077.