St Etheldreda's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. 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."
History of the parish and church
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. The opening of the London to Norwich railway line in July 1845 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: Sunday mass at 8.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. catechism 3 p.m. & rosary, instruction & benediction 6.30 p.m. daily mass 8 a.m., holidays of obligation, mass 9 a.m.
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.
Architecture and appearance of the church
The current church was opened on 17 October 1903, on the feast of the translation of St Etheldreda's relics. Due to the finances at the time of opening, the church was not consecrated until 22 May 1987.
The architect of the church was Simon Croot of Brampton and the builders were Messrs Howard of Huntingdon. The church was built for a cost of £2,600 with the Presbytery costing a further £900
The parish church was dedicated to St Etheldreda because she died in Ely.
The church is built in Decorated Gothic style, with a separate elevated sanctuary and two aisles. It contains a number of stained glass windows which depict:
St Peter
St Pius X
St Margaret Clitheroe
St John Houghton
St Francis
St John the Evangelist
The Good Shepherd
Jesus as Priest
The original organ was by the Positive Organ Company.
The original stained glass was supplied by Messrs Jones & Willis of London and Birmingham. The main window behind the Altar depicts St Wilfrid, Our Lady and St Etheldreda. The window is a conscious copy of a similar window to be found in York Minster.
Parish priests and clergy
The clergy resident in the parish have been as follows:
Parish statistics
The following table records the number of Baptisms (of children), Receptions (of adults) into the church, Marriages and the number attending Sunday Mass (as counted on the annual Census Sunday).
Shrine of St Etheldreda
The main modern shrine of St Etheldreda is located within the Church of St Etheldreda in Ely. In medieval England the principal shrine of St Etheldreda was at the Abbey of Ely. St Etheldreda was one of the most popular Anglo-Saxon saints and her shrine was one of the five most visited in medieval England. An analysis of Shrine offerings during the medieval period, for example, shows her shrine to be a major centre of pilgrimage until the 1520s.
At the heart of St Etheldreda's cult was the fact that her body was found to be incorrupt, remaining whole and lifelike in the grave, rather than decomposing. This was recorded initially by Bede in Bk 4, chp 19 of the History of the English Church thus helping her cult to become established and well known from an early date.