Elizabeth Goudge 1900 - 1984

Ely and Elizabeth Goudge When her father, Henry Leighton Goudge was transferred to Ely the whole family went and it proved to be a good move for Elizabeth. She loved Ely and having visited this city about 60 miles North-East of London, I can understand her feeling for this city on a hill.

As you approach Ely you cross the fens. In Roman times, this area of Britain was never fully under Roman contorl.  The local people knew the land far better than the invader and used their knowledge to harass the Roman armies.  At one time this area of Cambridgeshire was all fens [bog/swamp] but a series of engineering projects begun even in Roman times drained the land.  with the draining, the land feel and the area was threatened by sea incursion.  Finally, they established a series of pumps the took the water from the land and put it into drainage channels and when the tide came in, sluices were raised to keep the sea from overwhelming the land.  The result is the modern, flat land with the special 'black dirt' that is particularly good for certain crops.

If uou come by train from London, you can see Ely in the distance. It appears to arise out of the flat land like a Mount over the sea [but in this case the sea is flat and green land]. At the summit of this Island Mont arising above the farmland is the great Ely Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

The train stops at Ely on the flat.  As you leave the station and cross the road you can start your upwards towards city center and the Cathedral. Or if you prefer, you can cross the road, turn right and you will find yourslef on the pathway to the River Ouse.   Houseboats are tied up along the river walk, across the river cattle graze.  Oh, yes, there are modern watercraft too but there is enough of the old time feel here that you can put yourself into some of Goudge's novels easily.  There is a lovely walk along the river and some places to eat or sit and watch the water fowl and boats. If you walk downstream a bit, following the path under the bridge you leave the modern boats behind and look across at the cows grazing and even see a small windmill in the distance.

It was a visit to the Great Ouse that gave me my first real understanding of the houseboat mentioned by Goudge. I had always thought of the boats in an American tradition as one storied square boats with railings all around that I used to see in my childhood. But the houseboats on the River Ourse look nothing like that! You can see them at : Houseboats on the Great Ouse    And yes, the owners do grow flowers and small vegetable plots on the flat roofs of these boats.

Here is an Ely city map. You can orient yourself by finding the train tracks in the lower right and then face toward the Cathedral. Ely city map

Ely Cathedral is on the site of an abbey founded by St. Ætheldreda in 673 but destroyed by the Danes in 870. To read more about the Cathedral and its history go to: Ely Cathedral

When I visited Ely I was surprised to find that it was the home of Oliver Cromwell also! (so much for my knowledge of history) and I wondered if that daily closeness to Cromwell is one of the things that inspired Elizabeth Goudge to make that period so central to many of her stories. Also Ely was a center of the clock making trade - so the Dean's Watch taps into that tradition.

If you would like to view some photos of Ely, you can go to Ely photos 1993   If you look for it, you will see the photo of Kings School where Henry Leighton Goudge was assigned.