Yesterday I ran the opening of the Bishop’s Palace in Ely for Heritage Open Day and led guided tours around the building for over a hundred visitors. This was the second year that the Bishop’s Palace has been open for Heritage Open Day, and the Archivist of the King’s School, Ely and Ely Cathedral, Elizabeth Stazicker, organised an exhibition to accompany the event on pupils from the King’s School, Ely who served in the First World War. This was also the first opportunity to tell visitors about the investigation of the Long Gallery that took place in October 2013, uncovering what could be traces of the wallpainting commissioned by Sir Thomas Tresham; at the time of the last HOD, this had yet to take place.
I was delighted to meet Rebecca Lane of English Heritage, who is currently investigating domestic buildings in Ely for a major new English Heritage project, studying the survival of earlier building features behind more modern facades. Ely has been chosen because it has a high proportion of such survivals, and Rebecca is currently seeking permission from owners to investigate a wide range of properties.
Francis Young 