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“ Needham's charity school has recently been developed into a considerable school of the second grade. The national and infant schools are large and commodious. A monastery was founded here about 670; but in 870 it was pillaged and destroyed by the Danes, and it remained in ruins till 970, when it was restored by Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester. In 1107 Ely was erected into a bishopric by Henry I., and after the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII. converted the conventual church into a cathedral. ”

“ This edifice displays a singular mixture of various styles of architecture, and has an unfinished appearance, but taken as a whole it is a noble structure. The nave, which is Late Norman, was probably completed about the middle of the 12th century, and the western tower and the transepts were built by Bishop Ridal (1174–1189) . ”