Ely Cathedral is architecturally one of the most interesting in England. It occupies the site of an abbey founded by St. Ethelreda in 673. The existing building was begun in 1083 by the first Norman abbot, and the last half at least was completed in its original form when the see of Ely was created in 1109. The west part of the nave, including the west tower, was finished about 1180, and the west porch was added before 1215. The east end was added between 1229 and 1254. The central tower, which belonged to the original church, fell in 1322, and advantage was taken of this opportunity to construct the beautiful decorated octagon. A new spire was erected on the west tower at the end of the fourteenth century, the weight of which may have caused the collapse of the northwest transept, though some authorities think the latter was never finished. The whole building has been carefully restored. The most striking feature of the edifice is the castellated west tower, which is unlike any other cathedral tower in England, and to some extent suggests military rather than ecclesiastical architecture. The greater part of this tower is Transitional Norman (117-489), but the octagonal top and turrets were added in the decorated period. [Illustration: WELLS CATHEDRAL CHOIR] Wells Cathedral is, in its present condition, predominantly an Early English building, of the first half of the thirteenth century. It is the third church on the same site, and the foundation of the present edifice is commonly attributed to Bishop Joceline, 1206-1242. The church as he designed it was finished at the end of the thirteenth century. Thereafter a complete transformation of the east part was undertaken, the first step being the construction of the Lady-Chapel, about 1320, while the Presbytery dates from about 1350. The upper parts of the central tower also belong to the early fourteenth century. The upper parts of the west towers and cloisters are Perpendicular. The beautiful west façade, elaborately adorned with arcading and sculptures, is, like the west front of Lincoln, architecturally a mere mask. The choir, one of the most beautiful in England, is Early or Geometrical Decorated in the general effect. [Illustration: PLATE XCIX GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL FROM SOUTHWEST] [Illustration: ST. ALBAN'S ABBEY FROM SOUTHWEST]