Ely Cathedral

Although we had planned to go out on a fairly extensive day trip to Jane Austen's house, Nathan and I ended up deciding to stay in Cambridge the whole week we were there. We were just having such a nice time, and we didn't want to wear ourselves out with such a trip and miss a day in one of our favorite places. So we primarily stayed in Cambridge.

However, we did board a train with the whole family and ventured just 15 minutes up the tracks to see Ely Cathedral, Nathan's parents' favorite building in England. It was truly impressive.

A view from the park.

I guess I misread the memo about the cardigans.

It is so imposing on the outside. Can you imagine how life was when it was new? The landscape would have been relatively flat and covered with small houses and such, punctuated only by the occasional castle or towering cathedral. As impressive as it is today, how much more impressive it would have been in that context!

The front door. So amazingly beautiful and beautifully wrought. If someone wants to make me a replica for my house, feel free.

This is the actual coronation chair replica that was used in The King's Speech.
Does this make us one degree from Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush?

I think this door is from the 12th century.

The beautiful painted ceiling.
I thought these two stories and how different they were made for an interesting contrast.

The grave of Tyndall, mentioned in that last pic.
There were lots of interesting effigies in the cathedral.
The octagonal tower. I wish I could have gotten a picture to do it justice.
As I walked through this magnificent building, the craftsmanship of everything--everything--really struck me. They left nothing untouched but made everything beautiful. And they did it so many centuries ago, when it would have been much harder to accomplish what they did. I began thinking about how in my youth I was of the mind that churches shouldn't spend too much effort or money on beautifying their facilities because they should be putting their efforts into the people instead. Souls, after all, are eternal, and earthly buildings are not. Also, there exists the theory in 17th century poets and others that stripping away all the accouterments of an ornate worship experience is the best thing, since man can be tempted to worship their beauty instead of their Creator. But although there is, of course, some truth in this, my understanding of the subject gained some nuance sometime in college when I read two things. One was Proverbs 22:29, which says, "Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men." And one was the account of the building of the tabernacle in the Old Testament--it was quite ornate, and God required the very best craftsmen in all Israel to adorn it. Reading those two passages changed my mind; it reminded me that art often points you to the Creator rather than to itself. Indeed, C.S. Lewis, in his autobiographical Surprised by Joy, suggests that the aesthetic experience (his "joy") is a glimpse of heaven and God's glory, and its experience impels us to seek it again and again: it is an aspect of our search for God himself.

You cannot walk into a building like Ely Cathedral or King's College Chapel and escape the awe of its grandeur. And if you sit and actually look at the stained glass and the painted ceiling, which tell the stories of the Bible, originally for the benefit of those who could not read the text themselves, you can't help but be uplifted by the beauty of the place, and perhaps you also may not be able to help worshiping the One of whom the art speaks.

Walking through this beautiful, ornate church made me wish that more modern churches put as much effort into their aesthetic worth as these people did, centuries ago.

Beautiful, vibrant stained glass.

The ceiling of a small chapel.
It's pictures like this that make me wish I had a better camera.

The stonework in that small chapel.

Nathan's mom.

Another chapel.

There is beauty and workmanship even under your feet.


I took these two pictures to show the detail in the glass.


The choir and the screen. Beautifully carved!


Even the staircase to the organ, a fairly mundane object which could have been simply done, is artfully enclosed.

Ely Cathedral was, indeed, grand and beautiful!

After touring the cathedral, we through a park to have lunch at a tea room.

This is the Peacock, which was ranked the best tea room in England a couple of years ago.
It was, indeed, awesome. It was easily the best cream tea we had while we were there, and I highly recommend it! But be prepared to wait a bit at meal times--a team of rowers walked up, saw the line, and moaned, "But we rowed here all the way from Cambridge!" That's about 15 miles up the river--they did deserve a good lunch!

Deb, Matthew, Emily, and I sat together, and we all ordered the cream tea, which consisted of a selection of small sandwiches, scones, a slice of cake, and, of course, a pot of tea. With the tiered platters full of goodies, lots of clotted cream and jam, and four pots of tea, our table was truly impressive. All of us left completely stuffed and completely satisfied.

In fact, it was a satisfying day all around.
Hooray Ely!