Sunday 16 July 2006

The Ship of the Fens

This is the only view I had ,had of Ely Cathedral from the train from Peterborough to Cambridge ,so  imagine my delight when Maurice suggested we go to Ely on Thursday last . We set off on a dull day that really threatened rain ,in the event it never did and the sun came out to welcome us ,as did a very full car park !we drove round a couple of times ,and then managed to park ,we walk over to an  adjoining old peoples compex,where they were selling books to raise money for the Air Ambulance ,we had a browse and were told fill a bag for fifty pence Wow ,well we managed to select a few ?Maurice gave them a fiver ,and took the books back to the car ,we walked on still in the versility of the old folks Bungalows,and was greeted with the four Bungalows you see in the first picture ,just ablaze with colour,What a fantastic first impresion ,some one told us ,the lady in the first bungalow is over eighty ,what a gardener !

Ely Cathedral began as a monastery in AD 673 founded by St Etheldreda.
The Danes destroyed it and Abbot Simeon rebuilt it in 1081.
The central tower fell in 1322.
Alan of Walsingham rebuilt it in the design of the Octagon.
The story of Ely Cathedral begins in Saxon Times with the life of its founder, St. Etheldreda.

Etheldreda, a Saxon princess, was born in AD630 at Exning near Newmarket.

Etheldreda knew that God had called her to the religious life. For political reasons she was forced to marry twice, but keeping her vocation in mind, she maintained her virginity which was highly prized in early Christian times. Her first husband gave her the Island of Ely.

I looked up ,this informatiom  on the net ,for you .Well as you will imagine,we had a lovely day ,We finished the day with fish and chips ,I do hope you enjoy the entry ,as you know I tried to doall this yesterday ,but never mind it looks as though today I have been lucky...Have a Blessed Sunday everyone with love from       

 

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great pics of Ely, Jan, many thanks. Never visited it, although I enjoy English cathedrals. My favourite is Salisbury.

Have a good Sunday,
Guido

Anonymous said...

Oh my, does sound like you had such a great time!!!!! :)
TY for sharing the pics, did love looking at them.
Blessings,
Sugar

Anonymous said...

The pictures were great. I loved the stained glass windows. The place for older people was so pretty. Thanks for sharing. Hope you are having a nice Sunday. Helen

Anonymous said...

Oh boy you sure had a nice day didn't you. all the pictures are so pretty too. thanks for sharing them. Sandra

Anonymous said...

It's magnificiant Jan, there's some history in that place.  The OAP bungalows have a lovely safe friendly appeal.  I did some brass rubbing at school, you don't see people doing that craft anymore, nice to see someones carrying on the tradition.  I've had a lovely stroll round with you, thankyou. Rache

Anonymous said...

Jan the pictures and the history were lovely the stained glass windows were awesome ~ I loved the Old folks bungalows they really were so bright and colourful ~ Ally

Anonymous said...

Wow, those pictures were great!

Thanks for sharing. That place is awesome!!

Loved the pic of Oliver Cromwell's house too!

Lv Stevie
xxx

Anonymous said...

What an amazing place - if only because there's no scaffolding around it, lol. There always seems to be some aroud our great monuments these days.
Here's a coincidence, I went visiting a church myself this morning. not quite as grand as yours though. Hopefully I'll make an entry later on today when the weather's cooled down a little.
Gld you had a nice day. B. x

Anonymous said...

WOW, very interesting.  Thanks for sharing!  Linda in WA  

Anonymous said...

Great pictures Jan......what a magnificent Cathedral.
Sounds like you had a fantastic day out.
Hugs,

Anonymous said...

Wow!  Jae

Anonymous said...

Lovely pictures Jan.  The dark ones with the stained glass windows are really striking!!!
Gill xx

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan - what a lovely entry, very interesting - i shall have to do Truro Cathedral sometime for you.
Luv Jayne x

Anonymous said...

I've never been to Ely Cathedral, it looks a stunning place to visit and steeped in history too! I love the old people's gardens, aren't they bright and well looked after?! I never knew Oliver Cromwell lived there...... no, not in the old people's bungalows, in Ely silly! Have a great week. Jeannette xx  

Anonymous said...

The stained glass windows are breathtakingly beautiful!  When we lived in England, visiting the old cathedrals was my favorite thing to do!
~~Kath~~

Anonymous said...

Oh, Jan.. those pictures were breathtaking!  I have always wanted to visit England, and when you show your lovely pictures here, I am always so grateful to you.  I feel as though I was being taken on my own personal tour.  The cathedral is beautiful, and I learned so much, just from reading your captions and viewing the pictures.

That first one of the senior citizens bungalows were eye popping.  So many flowers!!  And, all so colorful!  I don't think I've ever seen so many flowers all in a row like that! lol   So lovely!

Thank you for sharing! :)

Jackie

Anonymous said...

Stuart and I have always meant to visit Elywhen we have been in Norfolk after seeing your pictures we certainly will if we are down again next year God willing.  Glad you had such a good day out and the gardens were beautiful too. Love Joan.

Anonymous said...

Hi Auntie Janet, sounds like a wonderful day. Any day that ends with fish and chips is a day well spent. You always feel hungrier after a day out too. Thanks for your comments in my journal and I will be very careful auntie, promise xXx

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan,

What a beautiful place the cathedral is.  I love churches but I`ve not been inside a British cathedral, I`d really like to though.  I must put that on my `to do` list.  I didn`t realise that Oliver Cromwell lived in Ely so that`s another lesson learnt, I presume his house is a museum now.  Have a lovely evening. :o)

Sandra xxxx

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan...

Just got round to reading your entry, love the pics and it looks like you really enjoyed yourself too! fish and chips...Mmmm!

Astra!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the history, Jan.  I would love to visit England some day.  You are the best tour guide one could ask for.  The cathedral is lovely.  Fish & Chips...yum.  HUGS  Chris

Anonymous said...

Your day out at Ely sounded lovely ,Pete was really interested as some of the photos you had taken were in the book that Gary bought him for his Birthday. Those gardens were so very pretty,that the old folk had done.That was good to talk to you on the phone while I was just doing this.Looking forward to seeing you soon..........Love Jeanxx

Anonymous said...

whata beauitufl entry Jan!
and that woman is very inspirational! wowie!
love,nat

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this entry Jan, it was so interesting and all the lovely photos as well. thanks for sharing a lovely day Linda xx