10 facts about Ely Cathedral
- Saint Etheldreda founded Ely Cathedral in AD 673. The cathedral began as a monastery at that time.
- Ely Cathedral is the primary church of Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire city of England. It is also the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Ely.
- The present cathedral dates back to 1083, when it was started by Abbot Simeon, under William I.
- 'Ovin's stone', at the base of an 8th century cross - visible inside the cathedral, is the only surviving structure in the cathedral from the early Saxon period.
- The total length of the Ely Cathedral is 537 feet, with the nave over 75 m long, the longest nave in Britain.
- The main transepts, crossing the nave below a central tower, are the oldest existing part of the rebuilt cathedral.
- The cathedral features significantly on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1994 album 'The Division Bell'. It also features in a number of John Rutter's choral albums.
- Ely Cathedral is planned in the shape of a cruciform or cross-shaped, with the altar being at the east end.
- The movie 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age' was filmed at Ely Cathedral. In August 2007, filming for 'The Other Boleyn Girl' also took place at the cathedral.
- Ely Cathedral has been directly referred to in 'Tom's Midnight Garden', a children's book by Philippa Pearce. A movie with the same title was released in 1999.
