The is a traditional region around the city of
Ely now in
Cambridgeshire ,
England but previously a county in its own right. It consists of 963 km&
2.
Until the 17th Century, the area was literally an island surrounded by a large area of
Fen land, a type of swamp. The Fens were ultimately drained using a network of canals designed by Dutch experts.
From
1107 until
1837 the Isle was under the jurisdiction of the
Bishop Of Ely , who appointed a Chief Justice of Ely and exercised temporal powers within the Liberty of Ely. This temporal jurisdiction originated in a charter granted by King
Edgar in
970 , and confirmed by
Edward The Confessor and
Henry I to the abbot of Ely. The latter monarch established Ely as the see of a bishop in
1107 , creating the Isle of Ely a
County Palatine under the bishop. An
Act Of Parliament in
1535 /6 ended the palatine status of the Isle, with all justices of the peace to be appointed by
Letters Patent issued under the great seal and warrants to be issued in the king's name. However, the bishop retained exclusive jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, and was
Custos Rotulorum . A chief bailiff was appointed for life by the bishop, and performed the functions of
High Sheriff within the liberty, who also headed the government of the city of
Ely Lewis, Samuel, ''Topographical Dictionary of England'', Vol. II, London
1831 .
The Liberty of Ely Act, 1837Liberty of Ely Act, 1837 (7 Will 4 & 1 Vict c.53) ended the bishop's secular powers in the Isle. The area was declared a division of
Cambridgeshire , with the right to appoint
Justices revested in the crown.
Following the 1837 Act the Isle maintained separate
Quarter Sessions , and therefore became an
Administrative County with an elected county council independent of Cambridgeshire between
1889 and
1965 . In the latter year it was merged to form
Cambridgeshire And Isle Of Ely , with the
Thorney Rural District going to
Huntingdon And Peterborough . In 1894 the county was divided into county districts, with the rural districts being
Ely Rural District ,
Thorney Rural District ,
Whittlesey Rural District ,
Wisbech Rural District ,
North Witchford Rural District , and the urban districts were
Ely ,
March ,
Whittlesey and
Wisbech (the only
Municipal Borough ). Whittlesey Rural district consisted of only one parish (Whittlesey Rural), which was added to Whittlesey urban district, in 1926.
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 had jurisdiction there, and if for example the landlord of the Mitre wished to throw out a drunk, he had to call the
Beadle . A member of the Ely force was detached for duty to the City of London police until withdrawn at the turn of the 20th century.
A
Parliamentary Constituency Called Isle Of Ely was created originally as a two member seat in the
First and
Second Protectorate Parliament s from
1654 to
1659 . The constituency was re-created with a single seat in
1918 , but in the boundary changes of 1983 it was replaced by the new constituency of
North East Cambridgeshire .
Original historical documents relating to the Isle of Ely are held by
Cambridgeshire Archives And Local Studies at the County Record Office in
Cambridge .
