a city and bishop's see of Cambridgeshire, situated about 12 miles north of Cambridge. E. Long. 0. 51. N. Lat. 52. 24. It is a county of itself, including the territory around; and has a judge who determines all causes civil and criminal within its limits. The church hath undergone various alterations since it was first established by Etheldreda, the wife of Egfride, king of Northumberland, who founded a religious house here, and planted it with virgins, and became the first abbess of it herself. The Danes entirely ruined this establishment; then Ethelwold, the 27th bishop of Winchester, rebuilt the monastery, and filled it with monks; to whom King Edgar, and many succeeding monarchs, bestowed many privileges, and great grants of land; so that this abbey became in process of time the best of any in England. Richard, the 11th abbot, wishing to free himself of the bishop of Lincoln, within whose diocese his monastery was situated, and not liking so powerful a superior, he made great interest with King Henry I. to get Ely erected into a bishopric; and spared neither purse nor prayers to bring this about. He even brought the bishop of Lincoln to consent to it, by giving him and his successors the manors of Bugden, Biggleswade, and Spalding, which belonged to the abbey, in lieu of his jurisdiction; but he lived not to taste the fruits of his industry and ambition, he dying before his abbey was erected into a see. His successor was the first bishop of Ely; but the great privileges the bishop enjoyed were almost wholly taken away, or much restricted, by the act of parliament, 27th Henry VIII. regarding the restoring to the crown the ancient royalties: So, instead of being palatine of the isle of Ely, the bishop and his temporal steward were by that act declared to be from thenceforth justices of the peace in the said island. This diocese contains all Cambridgeshire, and the isle of Ely, excepting Hellham, which belongs to the see of Rochester, and 15 other parishes, that are in the diocese of Norwich; but it has a parish in Norfolk, viz. Emmeth. The number of parishes in this diocese are 141, whereof 75 are inappropriate. It hath but one archdeacon, viz. of Ely. It is valued in the king's books at 2134l. 18s. 5d. The clergy's tenth amounting to the sum of 384l. 14s. 9½d. The bishopric is computed to be worth annually 4000l. The church is dedicated to St Ethelred. The building, as it now appears, has been the work of several of its bishops. The west parts were rebuilt by Bishop Ridal; the choir and lantern were begun by Bishop Norwold, and finished by Bishop Frodsham. This see hath given two saints and two cardinals to the church of Rome; and to the English nation nine lord chancellors, seven lord treasurers, one lord privy seal, one chancellor of the exchequer, one chancellor to the university of Oxford, two masters of the rolls, and three almoners. To this cathedral belong a bishop, a dean, an archdeacon, eight prebendaries, with vicars, lay-clerks, choristers, a schoolmaster, usher, and 28 king's scholars.