2-547-267 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, c1870. The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely is known locally as the ship of the Fens because of its prominent shape. The building was begun in 1083 by Abbot Simeon. In 1322 the cathedral's Norman crossing tower collapsed. It was replaced by the octagonal lantern tower for which Ely is most famous, which was designed by Alan of Walsingham, the cathedral's sacrist, and completed in 1351.