  The following extract from a Memorandum issued by the Dean in October, The following Memorandum of Works accomplished or required, was issued by Dean Goodwin, January, 1866:— "The time seems to be now come, when the completion of the great work of restoration, commenced under Dean Peacock and guided for many years by his care and judgment, may be looked upon as being within reach. The works which have been hitherto accomplished may be enumerated as follows:— 1. The Choir restored and re-arranged. 2. Central Lantern restored (Peacock Memorial). 3. South-east Transept restored. 4. South-west Transept restored. 5. Roof of North Transept restored and painted. (The painting at the expense of tradesmen employed upon the Cathedral.) 6. The Nave ceiled and painted. (The painting by the late Mr. le Strange and Mr. Gambier Parry.) 7. Nave roof repaired and re-leaded. 8. St. Catherine's Chapel rebuilt. 9. Bishop Alcock's Chapel restored. 10. Galilee Porch re-paved. 11. The Western Tower opened, ceiled, (the ceiling painted by Mr. le Strange), re-roofed, strengthened, &c., (part of the expense borne by the late H.R. Evans, Esq., and his son, the present H.R. Evans, Esq.) 12. About seventy windows filled with painted glass. The expense of the restoration of the Cathedral cannot be given with perfect accuracy, but the account which is here subjoined will be near enough for all practical purposes.
It would thus appear that since the commencement of the great works in 1845 to the present time, the sum of £27,185 has been expended, of which £15,200 has been furnished by the Dean and Chapter. It ought to be added that the sum contributed by the public includes a donation of £500 by the Bishop of the Diocese, and about £1000 contributed by members of the Chapter in their individual capacity. It must be observed, however, that the sum just mentioned by no means represents all that has been done for the Cathedral. The following works and gifts are not included:— 1. The painted windows, which have been supplied partly by individual donors, partly by a bequest of Bishop Sparke. Amongst the donors are Her Majesty the Queen and the Prince Consort. To the bequest of Bishop Sparke the Cathedral is indebted for the East windows, and those in the clerestory of the Choir, and the fund is not yet exhausted. 2. The carved panels above the Stalls in the Choir, now amounting to 37, and supplied almost entirely by individual donors, at a cost of about £18 each. 3. Bishop Alcock's Chapel, restored by Jesus College, Cambridge. 4. A pinnacle at the south-east corner of the Choir, built by A.J.B. Beresford Hope, Esq. 5. The magnificent Reredos, presented by J. Dunn-Gardner, Esq. 6. The contribution of Canon E.B. Sparke towards the restoration of the south-west Transept, and that by the two Messrs. Evans to the works in the western Tower. 7. The Font, presented by Canon Selwyn. 8. The Gates of the Choir Aisles, presented by Alan Lowndes, Esq. and Dean Peacock. 9. The Brass Eagle Lectern, presented by Canon E.B. Sparke. 10. The Tombs of Bishop Allen and Dr. Mill. 11. A legacy of £100 by the late Mr. Millers, Minor Canon of the Cathedral, and a contribution of £300 by his residuary legatees, applied to the ceiling of the Nave. Neither does the sum mentioned as having been contributed by the public include a legacy of £500 from the late Miss Allen, daughter of Bishop Allen, (which has been appropriated to a new pulpit, now in progress from the designs of G.G. Scott, Esq.,) and a legacy of equal amount, from Bishop Turton, for the purpose of re-paving the Nave. It may be safely stated that the expense of the works and the gifts above specified has not been less than £13,000; the windows alone have cost nearly £9000. The entire sum already expended upon the Cathedral will thus be found to exceed £40,000. In order to bring the Cathedral into such a condition as would appear satisfactory to those who have taken part in its restoration, the following works require to be done:— 1. The Nave, Octagon, and Transepts must be paved. Towards this work Bishop Turton gave by his will (as before stated) the sum of £500. The whole expense will probably be not less than £2500. 2. The stone-work of the Octagon must be completed by the restoration of the pinnacles and parapet. The external effect of Alan de Walsingham's Lantern cannot be rightly estimated until this restoration has been made; the cost will be about £2500. 3. The Lantern must be internally decorated. This work, though highly necessary for completing the effect of the interior, will probably cost not more than £500. 4. The Galilee porch requires extensive repair, partly from the decay of the Purbeck marble which is largely used in its construction, and partly from the unskilful treatment to which it has been submitted in former times. A grand commencement of this work has been made by Mrs. John Thomas Waddington, of Twyford Lodge, Winchester, at whose sole expense the portal which forms the eastern side of the Galilee is undergoing complete restoration, as a memorial of her late husband. The restoration of the remainder of the Galilee would probably cost £2000. 5. The warming of the Cathedral is another work, for which it would be impossible to set down less than £500; probably it would cost 6. The proper lighting of the Cathedral is a matter for consideration; this also might be regarded as a work devolving upon the capitular body: but when the extremely artistic character of the standards or coronÆ, which such a building requires, is taken into account, perhaps it may be fairly added to the list of works in which the friends of the Cathedral may be asked to co-operate. From this statement then it would appear that an expenditure of from £7000 to £8000 would complete the principal necessary works of the Cathedral, with the exception of the rebuilding of the north-west Transept, which it will probably be deemed desirable to omit from consideration, at all events until all the other works specified have been finished. Call the sum necessary £7000; this is not much to raise for so good a purpose; and when it is considered what the effect of the expenditure of such a sum will be, it seems difficult to believe that the money will not be forthcoming. The Dean and Chapter have not shown themselves hitherto insensible to the primary claim which the Cathedral has upon them, nor are they likely to do so in the completion of the great work which they have now had in hand so long. But the Cathedral has claims upon others beside the Capitular body. It has claims, which it is believed will be once more acknowledged by the wealthy landowners of the Diocese, by the Colleges of Cambridge, several of which are intimately connected with Ely, and finally by lovers of architectural beauty and ecclesiastical propriety throughout the country. To all persons, therefore, who take an interest in Ely Cathedral on Diocesan or any other grounds, an appeal is now made, and they are respectfully urged to make one final effort for the purpose of completing a work which has been so well begun, and hitherto so prosperously carried out. H. GOODWIN." "The Deanery, Ely, January, 1866." Since the issue of the foregoing memorandum further progress has been made in the Restoration of the Cathedral. 1. The Nave and Aisles have been re-paved. 2. The great Western doors have been repaired and decorated. 3. The Cathedral has been warmed and lighted. 4. Many stained windows have been inserted in the Choir. 5. The fourth large window in the Octagon has been filled with painted glass. 6. The foundation of the south side of the Choir and the south-eastern Transept have been underpinned and thoroughly repaired. 7. The great Western Tower has been braced with iron bands, and, it is believed, effectually secured. 8. The stone pulpit in the Octagon has been erected. 9. Many figures in wood have been placed on the Choir screen, the decoration of which is now completed. 10. Nine stone figures have been placed in the ancient niches in the Octagon; three more are needed to complete the design. 11. The whole of the carved panels over the stalls in the Choir have been completed. Several works still remain to be effected before the restoration can be considered as complete. 1. The paving of the Octagon and Transepts. The cost of the paving of the Nave has much exceeded the sum anticipated. The completion of this work will cost from £1000 to £2000 additional. 2. The re-paving of the aisles of the Choir, a work of no pressing importance at present, but which will demand great care and consideration whenever it is undertaken. 3. The decoration of the blank space of wall beneath the great East Window, on which there remain some traces of painted figures. If these are found too faint and uncertain for restoration, the space might perhaps be covered with a copy of some appropriate painting in mosaic. 4. The restoration of the exterior of the east end of the Choir. Window shafts to the number of about fifty have disappeared or are broken. The south-east angle turret has been crowned with a pinnacle, but the corresponding turret at the north-east still remains truncated. In the eastern face of the Choir there are twelve niches, which probably were once all filled with figures. 5. The restoration of the Galilee is still very incomplete. The shafts of Purbeck marble, which are so numerous throughout it, require to be repaired or replaced. The niches in the west face, intended for figures, are all empty. 6. The pitch of the roof of the Galilee and of the south-western Transept ought to be raised to give their full effect to the proportions of the great western Tower. 7. The rebuilding of the fallen Transept (north-west) is a work much to be desired, perhaps hardly to be anticipated, yet surely not to be despaired of. 8. The completion of the pinnacles and parapet of the Octagon. This is very important to give full effect to the central portion of the Cathedral, which suffers unduly in estimation from the original design being so imperfectly carried out. 9. Exterior repairs of Trinity Church, formerly the Lady Chapel, which is still under the charge of the Capitular body. The cost of restoring the interior decoration of this elaborate specimen of art, if it be deemed desirable, may be left at present out of calculation. A generous offer has been made for the interior decoration of the Lantern and vault of the Octagon, which there is every reason to hope will be executed at no distant time. C. MERIVALE. The Deanery, October, 1873. Summary of Expenditure upon Restorations, Memorials, and Special Works executed in Ely Cathedral within the last thirty years.
Lists of those persons who have contributed from time to time to these Restorations have been published. The general amount of these offerings are shown by the following summary:—
Besides the Restorations of the Cathedral, and the defraying of numerous expenses incident to their position as patrons or proprietors, considerable works have been carried on by the Dean and Chapter during the last thirty years in providing houses for the Masters of the Grammar School, converting the Great Gate into suitable Schoolrooms (towards which friends have contributed £575, including £325 by the City of Ely), partially restoring Prior Crauden's Chapel, improving the Deanery and the Canons' houses, building new Schools for the Choristers, with a Master's house, turning part of the old Sacristy into a muniment room and Verger's lodge, executing important sanitary works, laying underground drains, laying out and planting the grounds around the Cathedral, &c., at a cost altogether exceeding £12,000, exclusive of ordinary repairs. Total cost of Restorations and Improvements about £70,000. Some of the works named as being required to be done have been completed since the issue of the Dean's statement in 1873, viz., the decoration of the Octagon and Lantern; the three figures of the Apostles required to complete the series in the Octagon; the floor of the north arm of the Transept; and the erection of pinnacles on the exterior of the Octagon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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