Established by St Ethelreda local princess and Queen of Northumberland, later nun and Abbess, Ely Cathedral was once a thriving benedictine monastic community until Henry VIII dissolved all monastic communities in the period 1555 - 1540 to fund his split from Rome and various follies. A consequence of the act was the destruction like that of St Thomas of Canterbury Shrine the Shrine of St Ethelreda. All that is left is a slate stone marker near the high altar and choir. The Catholic Church in Ely holds a major relic of the saint and is worth the additional walk to be in the saints presence there. An Ordination rite was due to occur the evening of the day i visited. Worth seeing are the tapestries of the creation either side of teh nave which do not obstruct seeing the in place stain glass windows. By the Galiee enterence by the shop is a sculpture by the German artist Hans Feibusch of the post Resurrection Christ with wounds in his hands and chest. Off interest is the ability to see the full length of the nave from the West door through the Choir to the East, without that view being broken by a rood screen. Ely has the largest Lady Chapel of any English abbey/Cathedral (through the image of the blond haired Mary with arms up stretched may be an acquired taste). The chapel like other areas shows of the cathedral shows the violence of the reformation in its decapitation of images and chisel or pointed instrument marks on the walls. A visit to Ely Cathedral is very worthwhile - printing the bar coded ticket may be helpful as the volunteer had difficulty in reading my ticket on my phone.