St Etheldreda Church, Ye Olde Mitre and Ely Place, Holborn

[mcgillianaire]

This is England's oldest Catholic church, dedicated to the St Etheldreda of tawdry fame as described in the previous post. The church is located in Ely Place, Holborn near the City of London, and was built in 1290 by John De Kirkeby, Bishop of Ely and Lord Treasurer of England under Edward I. Though badly damaged during WWII, it is one of only two remaining buildings in London from this period.

Ely Place is a fascinating corner of London as until fairly recently it had remained an official part of the county of Cambridgeshire, although located in the heart of the metropolis and on the doorstep to the City of London (see map). For over six centuries it belonged to the Bishops of Ely who were based in Ely, Cambridgeshire. And in this exclave they built a palace with beautiful gardens and vineyards. It was famed for its strawberries, even receiving a mention to this effect in Shakespeare's Richard III where Gloucester tells the Bishop of Ely: "My Lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn, I saw good strawberries in your garden there. I do beseech you, send for some of them".

But the best kept secret of Ely Place is the ancient pub hidden within narrow passageways and its historic walls. Appropriately named Ye Olde Mitre Tavern, it lays modest claim (see pics below) to being the city's oldest drinking establishment, having been built in 1546!