Ely

Also known as Ely, Cambridgeshire

city and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England

AI overview

Ely is a city and civil parish located in Cambridgeshire, England. It serves as a local administrative center and community hub in the region.

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Place details

Locality: Ely
Region: England
Country: United Kingdom
Population: 20,574
Timezone: Europe/London

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Wikidata facts

Official name: Ely
Population: 11291
Area: 23
Official website: www.cityofelycouncil.org.uk
Image: Ely-071.jpg
Dialing code: 01353

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Commons category: Ely, Cambridgeshire
postal code: CB7
OS grid reference: TL5379
native label: Ely
Commons gallery: Ely
P8168: M39
P12749: Masashi Kishimoto

Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Article

Ely (/ˈiːli/ EE-lee) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the district of East Cambridgeshire in Cambridgeshire, England. It lies 14 miles (23 km) north-east of Cambridge, 24 miles (39 km) south-east of Peterborough, and 80 miles (130 km) from London. As well as the built up area itself, the parish also covers surrounding rural areas including the settlements of Chettisham, Prickwillow, Mile End, Queen Adelaide, and Stuntney. At the 2021 census the built up area had a population of 19,185 and the parish had a population of 20,574.

Ely is built on a 23-square-mile (60 km) Kimmeridge Clay island which, at 85 feet (26 m), is the highest land in the Fens. It was due to this topography that Ely was not waterlogged like the surrounding Fenland, and an island separated from the mainland. Major rivers including the Witham, Welland, Nene and Great Ouse feed into the Fens and, until draining commenced in the eighteenth century, formed freshwater marshes and meres within which peat was laid down. Once the Fens were drained, this peat created a rich and fertile soil ideal for farming.