Medieval to Tudor

Back to London, to the church that bears her name, which was built in 1290 by John De Kirkeby, Bishop of Ely and Treasurer of England under Edward I. Why did the Bishops of Ely come to London and particularly Holborn? Well, first of all, a member of the diocese had bought a piece of property here with the idea of building a little oratory, but then, in the middle of the 13th century, when parliament was called, it was necessary for the Bishops to come to London, so they needed a residence and so the Bishop of Ely built himself a great palace.

John De Kirkeby died leaving his property together with its liberties to the successors of the See of Ely. The whole estate was administered by the See of Ely and was outside the jurisdiction of the City of London. From 1316 were added a palace, orchards, vineyards, gardens and ploughlands until it spread over an area of 58 acres. As you come into the Upper Church under the choir screen, if you look to your right, the second coat of arms you see at the bottom of the window is of Simon Langham, Abbot of Westminster, Bishop of Ely, Archbishop of Canterbury, a sort of medieval high flier, as indeed were so many of the Bishops of Ely.

Thomas Arundel still kept his suite at Ely House after his promotion to Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of England. He let it to John O’Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III and father of Henry IV, after his palace at the Savoy was burnt and looted by Watt Tyler. Tyler, who was leading a peasants’ revolt against a poll tax, met his death nearby in Smithfield at the hands of the Lord Mayor of London. John O’Gaunt was to spend his remaining days at Ely House. It is here at Ely House that Shakespeare has John O’Gaunt making one of the finest speeches in the English language. It is the oration in Richard II, the first lines of which are known by heart by many English speaking people:

This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle, This Earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-Paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself, Against infection and the hand of war, This blessed plot, this Earth, this realm, this England

Richard III (Excerpts) John of Gaunt's death-bed speech (Act 2)

John De Kirkeby died leaving his property together with its liberties to the successors of the See of Ely. The whole estate was administered by the See of Ely and was outside the jurisdiction of the City of London. From 1316 were added a palace, orchards, vineyards, gardens and ploughlands until it spread over an area of 58 acres. As you come into the Upper Church under the choir screen, if you look to your right, the second coat of arms you see at the bottom of the window is of Simon Langham, Abbot of Westminster, Bishop of Ely, Archbishop of Canterbury, a sort of medieval high flier, as indeed were so many of the Bishops of Ely.

When I was last in Holborn, I saw good strawberries in your garden there I do beseech you send for some of them

Richard III: Act 3, Scene 4 (Translation)

This in fact was part of a ruse to get the Bishop out of the way and in fact the following day the Bishop found himself in prison. St Etheldreda was still held in great esteem throughout England. Pilgrimages were made to her shrine and badges were worn by those who had completed the pilgrimages. She was a patron of chastity and was invoked for help against infections of the throat and neck. To this day, the Blessing of Throats is an important annual event at St Etheldreda’s.Many Bishops of Ely were men of exemplary charity, feeding up to 400 poor people a day. To explore the fascinating links between St Etheldreda’s Church and the Bard, read parishioner Peter Bridgeman’s essay Shakespeare and St Etheldreda’s, republished on this website with his kind permission.