Roman Catholic Church Of St Etheldreda And Attached Walls And Piers

CAMDEN

TQ3181NW ELY PLACE 798-1/102/380 (West side) 24/10/51 Roman Catholic Church of St Etheldreda and attached walls & piers

GV I

Roman Catholic chapel and crypt. Built c1300 as the chapel of the town house of the Bishops of Ely. Restored 1874 by George Gilbert Scott Jnr, 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, c1944-52 following war damage and refitted 1960s. Ragstone with limestone dressings. PLAN: rectangular chapel over plain crypt. EXTERIOR: single storey. 5 bays and entrance bay. Only east elevation visible externally with 2 narrow late Geometrical style windows to the crypt and, above, a large 5 light elaborately traceried late Geometrical window (heavily restored following war damage) with a tall, narrow, blind, gabled and cusped arcade to either side and blind quatrefoil window over. West window similar. Entrance in the western bay of the south elevation with pointed archway and 3 moulded orders. INTERIOR: 2-light windows with pointed trefoil tracery to north and south elevations with glass depicting scenes from the Old & New Testaments by Charles Blakeman, 1952-8. West window, depicting English martyrs also by Blakeman (1964). East window of Christ in Majesty by Joseph Nuttgens, 1952. Between windows on north and south elevations and left and right of east and west windows, tall, narrow, blind, cusped arcades with crocketed gables and statues of martyrs (May Blakeman, 1962-4) on enriched corbels. Organ screen by Francis Bentley. Crypt with C19 columns and London paving stone floor. Glass 1960s by Charles Blakeman. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached stone walls to areas and gabled stone gate piers. HISTORICAL NOTE: the chapel formerly had octagonal turrets at the 4 corners. During the reign of Elizabeth I the house and chapel were temporarily confiscated but later returned and remained in the see of Ely until 1722 when the house was demolished and the chapel became a proprietary chapel. After passing through several hands it was bought in 1874 by the Rosminian Fathers.

Listing NGR: TQ3141181673