Nave Ceiling, Ely Cathedral, painted 1858-65

Nave Ceiling, painted 1858-65, Ely Cathedral

Nave Ceiling, Ely Cathedral

Ceiling put in by George Gilbert Scott

Painted by Henry Styleman L'Estrange and T. Gambier Parry

1858-65

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Other Views

Ely Cathedral from the south-east

West tower

Octagon and Lantern, Lady Chapel at left

St Catherine's Chapel, rebuilt by Scott

The nave, looking east

Victorian scrollwork on the West Door

Early brick diapering on the Bishop's Palace

Ely from under the Railway Bridge, by Jospeh Pennell

Photograph, caption, and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Remarkably, the 12-bay nave ceiling, which is 86' from the floor, was designed and mainly executed without fee by two country gentleman: T. Gambier Parry took up the work after his friend H. S. L'Estrange's death in 1862. The main figures are about nine feet tall. The Bible story is told in a progression from "The Creation of Man," "The Fall of Man," "Noah's Sacrifice," "Isaac Carrying the Wood" and "Jacob's Dream" (which can all be distinguished here) to the twelfth scene of "The Lord in Glory" (Handbook 38). Patriarchs and prophets stand at the side of the first ten bays with their scrolls. William A.Dutt, who visited the cathedral at the end of the Victorian period, heard that people were often surprised to learn that the ceiling "was the work, not of 'professional artists' or Academicians, but of 'two English country squires.'" He adds, "Such work testifies that now, as in the past, there are men for whom the work they accomplish is their sufficient reward" (325). M. S. Carey says, "Though not to everyone's taste, it must surely rank as one of the great Victorian works of church art" (16).

Sources

Carey, M. S. Ely Cathedral. Crawley: Pitkin, 1973.

Dutt, William A. Highways and Byways in East Anglia, with Illustrations by Joseph Pennell. London: Macmillan, 1901.

Handbook to the Cathedral Church, with Some Account of the Monastic Buildings, &c. at Ely. Ely: T. A. Hills and Son, 11th ed. 1880. Available here.

Last modified 29 July 2008