St Peter-in-Ely

Ely Castle was in the cathedral city of Ely in Cambridgeshire (grid reference TL541799). Its probable site is a mound near the cathedral which is now called Cherry Hill. This was a motte and bailey castle built by William I in 1070 in his conflict with Hereward the Wake to subdue the Isle of Ely. Once Ely was quiescent the motte was abandoned. However it was refortified in 1140 during the Anarchy by Bishop Nigel but surrendered to King Stephen. In 1143 Geoffrey de Mandeville was placed in charge of the castle. A castle in Ely was said to have been taken and destroyed by Falkes de Breauté in 1216. During the Second Barons' War half a century later, Ely with its fortifications was captured in 1268. It is thought that the castle built by Bishop Nigel was demolished soon afterwards. There are no visible remains other than the mound. However, there was a considerable amount of evidence uncovered in 2002, after excavations on the site took place. The dig revealed large quantities of clay items, including jugs, and bowls that would have been used in everyday Norman life. Farming and hunting tools were also found, including those made of bronze, which archaeologist's suggest date from the transition from Viking to Norman settlement after 1066. In addition, significant amounts of clay, which was often used to cover the surface of the Motte, were found in the excavations. The town council lacked funding to expand the search further, and the site was abandoned in early 2003. The findings of the dig can now be found in Ely Museum along with other significant findings from the area.

The Railways in Ely are an important interchange point between several routes in England. There are junctions north and south of the city where rail routes from Suffolk and Norfolk connect with routes to London, the Midlands, the north of England, and Scotland. Several rail freight operating companies use these routes and four passenger train operating companies provide services through Ely.

Ely railway station is on the Fen line in the east of England, serving the cathedral city of Ely, Cambridgeshire. It is 70 miles 30 chains (113.3 km) from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Waterbeach and Littleport stations on the Fen line to King's Lynn. It is an important junction for three other lines: the Ely to Peterborough Line, the Ipswich to Ely Line and the Norwich to Ely line. Ely is a busy station with trains running to a variety of destinations including London, Cambridge, King's Lynn, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool. It is managed by Greater Anglia, which is also one of four train operators that serve the station the others are Great Northern, CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway. The station was opened in 1845 by the Eastern Counties Railway at a cost of £81,500; the land on which it was built being a marshy swamp. The station was modified substantially by British Rail in the early 1990s, at the time that electrification of the line was taking place.

Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 672 by St Æthelthryth (also called Etheldreda). The earliest parts of the present building date to 1083, and it was granted cathedral status in 1109. Until the Reformation the cathedral was dedicated to St Etheldreda and St Peter, at which point it was refounded as the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Ely, which covers most of Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk, Essex and Bedfordshire. It is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon.Architecturally, Ely Cathedral is outstanding both for its scale and stylistic details. Having been built in a monumental Romanesque style, the galilee porch, lady chapel and choir were rebuilt in an exuberant Decorated Gothic. Its most notable feature is the central octagonal tower, with lantern above, which provides a unique internal space and, along with the West Tower, dominates the surrounding landscape. The cathedral is a major tourist destination, receiving around 250,000 visitors per year, and sustains a daily pattern of morning and evening services.

Ely Theological College was a college in Ely, Cambridgeshire, for training clergy in the Church of England. Founded in 1876 by James Woodford, Anglican Bishop of Ely, the college had a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. Ely's "ritualistic" (i.e. "Catholic") tendencies were attacked by Mr Samuel Smith MP in a House of Commons debate in 1899.Because of its reputation for strong Anglo-Catholicism the clergy trained there had little hope of rising to senior positions in the church; the first one to become a diocesan bishop was Edward Wynn in 1941. (Eric Mascall in his autobiography expresses the opinion that there were few differences in doctrine or liturgy between Ely and the theological colleges of Cuddesdon and Lincoln.) The principal from 1891 to 1911 was B. W. Randolph (also a canon of the cathedral); he was succeeded by Charles John Smith (previously vice-principal) who maintained the customs established in Randolph's time. The vice-principal was then Harry Thomas, a former missionary who later became the suffragan bishop of Taunton.The college closed in 1964.

The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now covers the modern ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire (excluding the Soke of Peterborough) and western Norfolk. The diocese was created in 1109 out of part of the Diocese of Lincoln. The diocese is ancient, and the area of Ely was part of the patrimony of Saint Etheldreda. A religious house was founded in the city in 673. After her death in 679 she was buried outside the church, and her remains were later reburied inside, the foundress being commemorated as a great Anglian saint. The diocese has had its boundaries altered various times. From an original diocese covering the historic county of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire were added in 1837 from the Diocese of Lincoln, as was the Sudbury archdeaconry in Suffolk from the Diocese of Norwich. In 1914 Bedfordshire became part of the Diocese of St Albans, and western Suffolk became part of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, whilst Ely took a western part of the Diocese of Norwich. Peterborough remains the seat of the Diocese of Peterborough.Today the diocese covers an area of 1,507 square miles (3,900 km2). It has a population of 705,000 and comprises 209 benefices, 303 parishes and 335 churches with 145 stipendiary parochial clergy.

Ely ( EE-lee) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about 14 miles (23 km) north-northeast of Cambridge and 80 miles (130 km) from London. Ely is built on a 23-square-mile (60 km2) Kimmeridge Clay island which, at 85 feet (26 m), is the highest land in the Fens. It was due to this topography that Ely was not waterlogged like the surrounding Fenland, and was an island separated from the mainland. Major rivers including the Witham, Welland, Nene and Great Ouse feed into the Fens and, until draining commenced in the eighteenth century, formed freshwater marshes and meres within which peat was laid down. Once the Fens were drained, this peat created a rich and fertile soil ideal for farming. The River Great Ouse was a significant means of transport until the Fens were drained and Ely ceased to be an island in the seventeenth century. The river is now a popular boating spot, and has a large marina. Although now surrounded by land, the city is still known as "The Isle of Ely". There are two Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the city: a former Kimmeridge Clay quarry, and one of the United Kingdom's best remaining examples of medieval ridge and furrow agriculture. The economy of the region is mainly agricultural. Before the Fens were drained, eel fishing was an important activity, from which the settlement's name may have been derived. Other important activities included wildfowling, peat extraction, and the harvesting of osier (willow) and sedge (rush). The city had been the centre of local pottery production for more than 700 years, including pottery known as Babylon ware. A Roman road, Akeman Street, passes through the city; the southern end is at Ermine Street near Wimpole and its northern end is at Brancaster. Little direct evidence of Roman occupation in Ely exists, although there are nearby Roman settlements such as those at Little Thetford and Stretham. A coach route, known to have existed in 1753 between Ely and Cambridge, was improved in 1769 as a turnpike (toll road). The present-day A10 closely follows this route. Ely railway station, built in 1845, is on the Fen Line and is now a railway hub, with lines north to King's Lynn, northwest to Peterborough, east to Norwich, southeast to Ipswich and south to Cambridge and London. Henry II granted the first annual fair, Saint Etheldreda's (or Saint Audrey's) seven-day event, to the abbot and convent on 10 October 1189. The word "tawdry" originates from cheap lace sold at this fair. A weekly market has taken place in Ely Market Square since at least the 13th century. Markets are now held on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with a farmers' market on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month. Present-day annual events include the Eel Festival in May, established in 2004, and a fireworks display in Ely Park, first staged in 1974. The city of Ely has been twinned with Denmark's oldest town, Ribe, since 1956. Ely City Football Club was formed in 1885.

King's Ely (renamed from "The King's School" in March 2012), is a co-educational public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) and Cathedral school in the city of Ely in England. It was founded in 970 AD, making it one of the oldest schools in the world. It was given its first Royal Charter by King Henry VIII in 1541, its second by Queen Elizabeth I in 1562, and its third by King Charles II in 1666. The school consists of a nursery, a pre-preparatory school, a prep school, a senior school, a sixth form, and an international school. King's Ely is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. In 2021, The Independent Schools Inspectorate published their report writing that "King's Ely achieved the highest grading possible in every category inspected and was judged to meet or exceed all regulatory standards for independent day and boarding schools."The school has produced a number of notable alumni, including, Edward the Confessor, King of England, Lord Browne of Madingley, erstwhile chairman of British Petroleum, and James Bowman, countertenor.King's Ely has featured in the local news for its sports results, and it has produced a bronze medal-winning Olympic athlete, Goldie Sayers, who won a Bronze Medal for Great Britain in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Much of the senior school uses the historic monastic buildings of the cathedral, and major school events and twice-weekly services are held there. One of the boys' boarding houses, School House, is claimed to be the oldest residential building in Europe. In its entirety, the school has over 1,000 pupils. It has a small campus, with other parts in buildings near the city centre. All King's Ely sections share resources such as sports facilities and the refectory in the Monastic Barn (unless in Sixth Form where pupils eat in the Bishop's Palace).

The Bishop's Palace, Ely was one of the residences of the Bishop of Ely from the 15th century until 1941. It is a Grade I listed building.The palace was built in the 15th century by Bishop John Alcock however just two towers from the original building remain. He also completed the bishop’s palace (now Wisbech Castle) at Wisbech (where he died in 1500). Bishops over the following centuries expanded and remodelled the palace.During the Second World War the palace was used as a base for the British Red Cross and after this period it became a home for disabled children until its closure in the 1980s. Following this, the palace was purchased on a 99 years lease by the Sue Ryder Care organization although the palace went up for sale again in 2010. Later that year, local public school, King's Ely took over the lease from Sue Ryder Care and refurbished the palace to become the school new sixth form centre. It was opened by the Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester on Friday 25 January 2013.

Harry Specters is an Ely, Cambridgeshire-based chocolatier established with the express purpose of providing employment and free work experience for autistic individuals. It was founded by Mona and Shaz Shah in 2012; the Shahs themselves have an autistic son. The name Harry Specters was their son's idea when he was 14 years old. When asked how he came up with the name, he said it "...came from my head". After working with many autistic young people, the company believes that autistic people can be very intuitive. They are very loyal, have great attention to detail and love to be social. 60% of the company's profits are reserved for social goals.Harry Specter's products received one Three-Star rating and two One-Star awards in the Guild of Fine Food's Great Taste Awards for 2014. As well, the Guardian ranked their chocolate Easter egg as the best chocolate made by a social enterprise in 2014.

The city of Ely formed a local government district in the Isle of Ely and Cambridgeshire from 1850 to 1974. It was administered as a local board district from 1850 to 1894, and as an urban district from 1894 to 1974. Unusually for somewhere which claimed city status, Ely was not a municipal borough.

St Mary's Church is a church in Ely, Cambridgeshire, located near Ely Cathedral to the west of the Bishop's Palace.Principally constructed in the 13th century, it was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1950.Sextry Barn, which stood immediately to the west of the churchyard, was a large 13th-century tithe barn. It was demolished in 1842.