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Ely (Episcopal city of England)

an episcopal city of England, in the county of Cambridge. The ecclesiastical structures comprise the cathedral and the churches of St. Mary, and the EMANCIPATION Holy Trinity, the last belonging to the time of Edward II., and one of the most perfect buildings of that age. The superb cathedral occupies the site of a monastery founded about the year 673 by Etheldreda, daughter of the King of East Anglia. Its entire length, E. to W. is 537 feet, and its W. tower is 170 feet high. The whole structure comprises an almost unbroken series of the various styles of architecture which prevailed in England from the Conquest to the Reformation, yet with no loss of impressiveness as a whole. It has undergone of late years extensive additions and restoration. Most of the inhabitants are engaged in agricultural labor. Pop. 8,000.