2-969-762 - /Heritage Images

Ely Cathedral Restored - the Octagon, 1856. 'It is quite impossible to enter this venerable and interesting fabric without feeling how well the restorations have been executed and carried out, in mass and in detail. There is one fault about restoration which cannot, unfortunately, be avoided - it takes away the pleasing effects which time alone can give by its softening influence to the stone and to colour...Whether seen from the east or from the west, the Octagon forms a grand feature...The restorations of Ely Cathedral have been going on quietly - first under the superintendence of the present talented Dean, Dr. Peacock; and lately, from year 1847, under the able direction of Mr. G. Gilbert Scott, the eminent architect...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1856.