Till the Restoration these represented two separate incumbencies; the former having been given to the Abbey of Ely by Brithnoth, the heroic Alderman of East Anglia under Ethelred the Unready. Both churches have passed through singular architectural vicissitudes. The design of the Norman tower of St. Mary's (the lower of the two), square below and octagonal above, was copied by the fifteenth century builders of St. Cyriac's, and is the only surviving portion of their work--the body of the church having been pulled down in 1667, at the union of the benefices. [Illustration: _Swaffham Prior._] A century later the steeple of St. Mary's was struck by lightning, which occasioned so unreasoning a panic amongst the worshippers that they resolved to abandon the church altogether. In vain did the Squire (then, as now, one of the Allix family)[144] offer to repair the damage, which was but slight, at his own charge. Nothing would serve but dismantling St. Mary's and using its spoil towards the rebuilding of St. Cyriac's, in the shape of a hideous brick tabernacle, of the worst Georgian style, attached to the ancient tower. St. Mary's would have been entirely pulled down had not the ancient masonry proved so solid that the work of demolition did not pay the local builder who got the job. As it was, it remained a ruin for yet another century, and it was not till the end of the nineteenth that it was restored--still under Allix auspices. Now it is once more the place of worship, and contains a specially well-executed rood-screen. But the beautiful spire which crowned the whole steeple still awaits replacement. The Georgian St. Cyriac's yet stands, and is used as a parish museum. [Footnote 144: This family came into England amongst the Huguenot refugees from France early in the eighteenth century.] [Illustration: _Swaffham Prior Churches._] From the churchyard of Swaffham Prior we get a grand view over the limitless fen to the northward; Ely Cathedral, ten miles away, rising conspicuous above it. The road we have been pursuing leads us on Ely-wards; but, a mile hence, comes to a dead stop at the little hamlet of Reach, once one of the most important places in the whole county. For here the mighty earthwork of the Devil's Dyke runs down into the fen. To meet it the greatest of all the Lodes was cut from the Cam at Upware, and at its hithe (or quay) our road has its termination. It is a striking surprise, for one comes upon it abruptly round a corner, and suddenly finds oneself at the end of all things. The hithe is a quiet green meadow now; but the clear brown water of the lode still sleeps beside it, and even yet barges, laden with turf or coal, occasionally creep up hither. Of old it was a constantly busy spot, where sea-going ships were loaded and unloaded, and trains of waggons attended, bringing and carrying off the cargoes. [Illustration: _The Castle Moat, Burwell._]