St Etheldreda's Church, Ely
| St. Etheldreda's | |
|---|---|
| St. Etheldreda's RC Church | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: 52°24′06″N 0°15′41″E / 52.401725°N 0.261408°E | |
| Location | 19 Egremont Street, Ely, Cambs, CB6 1AE |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | None |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1903 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of East Anglia |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Alan Hopes |
| Rector | Rev Anthony Shryane |
The Catholic church of St. Etheldreda, Ely is a Roman Catholic parish church in Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK. It is part of the Diocese of East Anglia within the Province of Westminster.
The church notably contains the shrine and relics of St. Etheldreda, an Anglo Saxon queen and abbess who died on 23 June AD 679 and went on to become one of the most popular of the medieval saints in England. She has even been described as one of "the most significant of all native English Saints."
By the middle of the nineteenth century the town of Ely had approximately 600 families and there were some 30-40 Catholics living in the district. but there was no resident priest. At that time there was a single missionary rector based in Cambridge, Canon Thomas Quinlivan. With the opening of the London to Norwich railway line in July 1845 this made it easier for Canon Quinlivan to travel to Ely and say occasional masses in a private house in the town.
The parish of St. Etheldreda began as a distinct and separate mission in 1890 when Fr John Francis Freeland was sent to Ely and opened the first place of worship by partitioning his lodging room to create a tiny chapel. In 1891 the population of Ely numbered 8017 and the first Roman Catholic congregation numbered just 16 worshippers. With numbers rising, Fr Freeland purchased ground and opened a small corrugated iron chapel in 1892 on part of the site upon which the later St. Etheldreda's church would be built.
The original iron church still exists at Thorney Toll as it was used as a chapel until about 1973, dedicated to St. Patrick. It was then sold and used as a garage
When the parish church opened in 1892 the services offered were as follows:
The parish grew gradually, numbering about 100 by the early 1930s In the period around, and after, the second world war, there were up to 300,000 Italian and German Prisoners of War based in the fens, a number of whom were based at a camp in Ely and worshipped at St. Etheldreda's.
...
Wikipedia