Ely Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, officially: "The Cathedral Church of The Holy Trinity and Undivided " from Ely in Cambridgeshire is next to Peterborough, an important monument of the mature Norman- Romanesque style.

The present structure dates back to a Benedictine foundation of the 7th century. Supposedly was the holy Etheldedra, the former Queen of Northumbria, since the year 673 abbess. Here on a hill in the Isle of Ely in a former swamp, the Anglo-Saxons had been able to defend against the Normans in 1071.

• 8.1 organ

The Norman building

Under William I of the Romanesque building was begun in 1083 as an abbey church by the Norman Abbot Simeon, a brother of the abbot Walkelin of Winchester and former monk of St. Ouen at Rouen, who was then already 90 years old. It began with the choir.

The eastern transept was built in 1087-1093 with initially guided around three sides of the wings aisles. The arcades of this transept are now the oldest parts of the first section. Today's hammer-beam vaulted ceiling with its colorful angels dates from the 15th century. The choir is renewed gothic.

1109 the construction was continued, now known as the Cathedral of Abtbischofs.

The 12- jochige nave dates from the 12th century and has the highest nave in England. It was in 1180 " completed ". It has a three-part elevation with alternation of supports and galleries. There is widespread equivalence of the two lower floors ( Empor arches, however, two shared ), to which the clerestory in height but hardly inferior ( dreibogig ). The number of sheets per yoke thus increases from bottom to top in the ratio 1:2:3. The ascending from the ground services are umkröpft only by two narrow horizontal bands. They are, despite their size not created a curvature towards, but as a pure wall structure. Later, 1858-65 Walmdecke painted wooden covers the rafter roof. Its creator, Henry le Strange Styleman oriented on the ceiling of St. Michael (Hildesheim ).

From the time in 1140, the portal comes on the southern side aisle with a representation of Majestas Domini ( " Prior's Door" ). An influence from Southwest France is likely. The door led to the now no longer existing cloister (similar to the "Monk 's Door " for the former eastern arm of the cloister ).

To a 1200-1215 Galilee was connected in the West - under Bishop Eustache ( 1195-1215 ).

The western transept

The western transept was followed in the 3rd quarter of the 12th century. It has its own mighty crossing tower, which is more dominant than the eastern crossing tower, which stands on its ' usual ' place in the eastern part of a church plant. So Ely has two Vierungstürme.

The southern arm of the western transept was built at the beginning of the 13th century and has its own small tower. The northern transept collapsed at the end of the 16th century and was not reconstructed. Thus, the facade was unbalanced. Even before the mid-13th century occur apex ribs here and in Lincoln. This western transept nave. Here is the late Romanesque Schmuckfreudigkeit is particularly intense: In six storeys above the other rows Blendarkaturen and openings in the lower parts additionally separated from bracelets. On the second floor a subject is taken up in the arcades, which was used in the aisles of Durham for the first time: overlapping arcs. This motif belongs from now on to the classic English jewelry repertoire.

The importance Ely in the English architectural history

Ely shows in his long architectural history a process that can also be at other English cathedrals understand and constitutes a general criterion of English architecture: the growth of decorative forms into extreme forms inside. In Durham, the decoration of the pure architectural elements had still restricted to the arches, pillars and ribs. The structure of the building became even more emphasized. But already at the base surfaces of the side aisles in Durham, a tendency also the walls had been shown to coat with blind arcades. Here in Ely is then up to the Norman- Romanesque elements observed that the forms of jewelry become independent, no longer emphasize the architectural structure, but also gain intrinsic value - partly directed against the outline. Whole walls are covered with decorative forms. The impression of the over run wild arises when every little surface is covered with small-scale and nested in itself detail forms (Ely, west transept, south wing ).

This process goes so far that the architectural elements are themselves " ornamented ", their original supportive or gliedernde function forget ' and to sink into the play of shapes threaten ( here in Ely particularly in the grave chapel Bishop Alcock in the choir ). " In the later 12th century, in the late phase of Romanesque art, it undergoes a not to surpass increase ". The old Anglo-Saxon jewelry need that abruptly disappeared with the Norman conquest of the island in 1066 from the architecture, brings again obvious advantage. In Ely, this process of construction can track to construction.

The new building of the choir

Under Bishop Hugh of Northwold the Romanesque choir was discontinued and from 1234 replaced by the sechsjochige presbytery, 1252 completed. It is next to the Angel Choir of Lincoln the "richest example of English Early Gothic at the threshold of the Decorated Style".

The new crossing in the east

1322 collapsed, the eastern crossing tower. At that time the abbey by Bishop John Hotham (1316-1337) was conducted. He is responsible for the bold decision not simply to reconstruct the old tower, but to venture an entirely new form.

After the year 1322 the new crossing and the three subsequent choir bays are built (about 1328-40 ). The crossing itself is an eight -sided, elongated dome room full nave width, including the aisles with 25 meters in diameter. Above the lower octagon rises a complicated eight-sided wooden structure of the Master William Hurley, the carpenter of the king, so that - documentary clearly documented - a London model imitated. He dropped out of the eight piers - according to the principle of the hammer skeleton - converge 16 long encased in triangular shape wooden cage up converged and the powerful wooden lantern wearing ( wooden scaffolding around 22.5 ° to the stone octagon rotated ). Two of these strains to rest on one of the eight pillars and carry along the load of more than 400 tons of wood construction. But Hurley has ribs placed under the wood cladding and thus suggests a stone construction.

The lantern is fitted with wooden tracery, to illuminate the Vierungsraum sufficient. The corners of the lantern corresponding to the sides of the octagon.

Is crowned this space part with a wooden star vaults ( completed 1335). It depends to a height of 43 meters. Disembark from each fighter on seven ribs while going by the fighters of the large octagon five for the vault caps and six to the cross- peak ridges.

This Vierungsgewölbe is Illuminated on all sides by rotating window on a blind arch sequence. The unusual structure could only be built out of wood. This unique in the whole Gothic architecture system was completed in 1342 ( under the direction of Alan Sacristan of Walsingham ). In the upper diagonal surfaces large tracery windows have been used. Nikolaus Pevsner said, here have a " disclosure of the clear dividing lines between the central nave, side aisles, transept and choir, as they were the High Gothic cathedral in layout and structure to basically " took place. Today's outer structure of the " Octagon " is modern.

The elevation of the choir bays shows following the early Gothic yokes richer forms of jewelry. There are wide galleries and window openings with curved Maßwerkgittern and a complicated stellar vault.

The Lady Chapel

The huge Lady Chapel was probably built 1321-1349 under the direction of Brother John Wysbeck. It is exceptionally a separate building parallel to the choir at the east corner of the north transept and nave is a square space of five bays with dimensions of 30 to 14 meters. The flat stone vault is the widest of England. The interior is entirely surrounded by Blendarkaturen with geschneppten ogee arches; in the interstices between figures are housed; many areas are at a sprawling foliage decoration covered ( " one of the richest and most elegant rooms all over the Gothic " ).

The western transept

To 1380, the cornerstone of western transept were strengthened. Thus, the west porch was even more separated from the nave. The western transept represents the last phase of the late Romanesque style. As the whole facade ( = west wall of the transept ) it is completely divided with niches and other openings, interspersed with neo-Gothic pointed arch lancets. This design originally used only in the interior wall design is here transferred to the exterior. The entire construction of the west tower pulls down from about 1200 to 1400. The former battlements studded spire was removed in 1757. The lower part of the facade shows on the faces of the famous English waffle pattern ( diaper- work).

The external view

In the English cathedrals results for a view from a distance, a fundamentally different picture than on the mainland. First, these buildings are often located in an open field and not in the middle of a city, are so clearly perceived as a structural unit. Second, there is a dynamic relationship between the quiet bearing and elongated naves and choirs on the one hand and the richly decorated tower groups in the west and over the crossing on the other. Ely, on this point as the " grandest Romanesque achievement."

Kathedralmusik

Ely has a famous church choir for boys and men, the recently found international attention because of its association with the " Choir Boys": two of its members, Patrick Aspbury and CJ Porter - Thaw, are choristers of the cathedral. The boys are educated in the junior department of the " King's School " of Ely.

Some time ago, the church has begun to build an adult choir, the " Octagon Singers" and parallel to a boys' choir, the " Ely Imps ". Finally, in 2006 came the " Ely Cathedral Girls' Choir".

Organ

The organ dates back to an instrument that had been built in 1831 by the organ builders Elliot and Hill. The organ case was not created until 1850. 1908 was the instrument of the organ builders Harrison and Harrison, reusing material pipes from the previous organ, a new instrument. The organ was restored several times. In the course of building restoration in 1999-2000 the organ was expanded and extensively restored by the organ builder Harrison and Harrison and expanded. The instrument has 80 registers, four manuals and pedal. The tracker action is electro-pneumatic.

Ely in popular culture

• The cathedral appears on the cover of the Pink Floyd album The Division Bell from 1994. In the video for the song " High Hopes " from the same album plays the cathedral an important role as a fixed point.
• A number of recordings of choral music under John Rutter is on the cover of the Cathedral of Ely as a reference to the fact that early recordings of his music have been included here in the Lady Chapel.
• Ely also appears on the children's book Tom 's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce.
• Some passages of the film The Golden Age, the follow-up film to Elizabeth, have been filmed here in June 2006, with the stars Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen acted, directed by Shekhar Kapur.