The in
Cambridgeshire ,
England , is a traditional region around the city of
Ely . It consists of 963 km² and was the site of the fair of St. Audrey.
The Isle was traditionally a
Liberty of Cambridgeshire, associated with the
Bishop Of Ely , and had separate
Quarter Sessions , and was sometimes described as a
County Palatine .
It therefore became an
Administrative County with an elected county council independent of Cambridgeshire between
1889 and
1965 , until it was merged to form
Cambridgeshire And Isle Of Ely , with the
Thorney Rural District going to
Huntingdon And Peterborough .
Its name is said to mean "island of
Eel s", a reference to the creatures that were often caught in the local rivers for food.
Administratively, the Isle of Ely also included
Ely Place , lying off
Holborn Circus in
London and linked to
Hatton Garden by Ely Court. It was the site of the palace of the Bishops of Ely. The licence for the Mitre pub in Ely Court was issued in Cambridgeshire until the late 19th century. Neither the Metropolitan nor the City of London police have jurisdiction there, and if for example the landload of the Mitre wished to throw out a drunk, he had to call the Beadle.
There used to be a
Parliamentary Constituency Called Isle Of Ely , but in the boundary changes in 1983 it was replaced by the new constituency of
North East Cambridgeshire .
