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In: Architecture·United Kingdom·History - British
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #21003.
Walter Debenham Sweeting’s work is a scholarly survey of Ely Cathedral, its architecture, monastic history, and the surrounding see. The book opens with a meticulous acknowledgment of the many authorities consulted, chronicles such as the Liber Eliensis, the Inquisitio Eliensis, and modern reports by Sir G. G. Scott, followed by a detailed contents list that maps the building’s exterior, interior, and ancillary structures. Sweeting’s introductory chapter situates the cathedral’s origins in the early medieval landscape, tracing the legend of Saint Etheldreda and the formation of the Isle of Ely, while repeatedly citing primary sources and offering footnote references. The narrative proceeds systematically through each façade, tower, and chapel, interspersed with photographs and illustrations supplied by the Photochrom Company.
The tone is that of a Victorian‑era antiquarian, formal and erudite, with a focus on documentary evidence and architectural description rather than romantic storytelling. Readers who appreciate meticulous historical research, architectural detail, and the study of medieval ecclesiastical institutions will find Sweeting’s methodical approach rewarding, especially those with an interest in English cathedral heritage or the historiography of the East Anglian region.
The opening · free to read
London George Bell & Sons 1910 First Published June 1901. Reprinted 1902, 1910.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
It is hardly necessary to give a complete list of all the authorities consulted in the preparation of this book. As specially valuable for Ely may be named the "Liber Eliensis" and the "Inquisitio Eliensis"; the histories of Bentham, Hewett, and Stewart; the "Memorials of Ely," and the Handbook to the Cathedral edited and revised by the late Dean; Professor Freeman's Introduction to Farren's "Cathedral Cities of Ely and Norwich"; and the various reports of Sir G. G. Scott. But numerous other sources of information have been examined, and have supplied facts or theories; and in nearly every instance, particularly where the very words are quoted, the authority is given in the text or in the notes.
My best thanks are due to the Dean of Ely for his ready courtesy in allowing free access to every part of the cathedral and for his solution of various difficulties which had presented themselves in comparing different accounts of the fabric. I have also to thank the Rev. T. Perkins and the Photochrom Company for the use of the photographs from which the illustrations have been prepared. For many curious details, and for the loan of some books that are out of print and difficult to obtain, I acknowledge my obligation to Mr. C. Johnson, of Ely.
W. D. SWEETING.
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