Ely
Cathedral is one of England's most beautiful cathedrals, known as 'the ship of
The Fens'. Construction of the Cathedral as we see it today began in the
11th Century. The monastic church became a cathedral in 1109 but by 1539
the monastery had been dissolved by Henry VIII. The Cathedral was refounded
in 1541 and Robert Steward, the last Prior of the monastery, became its first
Dean. During the 18th Century the cathedral underwent its first major restoration. A
second restoration project began in 1839 headed by acclaimed architect Sir George
Gilbert Scott. Today the cathedral's interior is testament to the stunning
craftsmanship of the thousands of stonemasons, sculptors and carvers who worked
on it down the years. | 
