Ely

Ely rises above the surrounding fenland, its great cathedral visible across the flat country. The church grew from a monastery associated with Saint Etheldreda and became the seat of a bishop in 1109. Its distinctive octagonal tower and lantern replaced the Norman central tower after it collapsed in 1322.

Work on the new tower began in the year of the collapse and continued for about twenty years. The monks rebuilt the crossing on an ambitious scale, creating the octagon that became the cathedral's most striking feature. In 1539 Henry VIII dissolved the monastery, though the church continued as a cathedral served by a smaller body of canons. Its long history as both a monastic house and a bishop's church remained visible in the buildings that rose above the former island in the fens.