Wednesday, 12 August 2009

Sanctury in Holborn

Dear Readers ~ El Moano again!

An interesting little spot in Holborn is Ely Place. Before the postcode came into being, the actual address was Ely Place E.C.1 Cambridgeshire. This is because the place was the home of the bishops of Ely. There was a palace at one time. They had a palace here because every so often they were called to sit in Parliament .

The church, aside from Westminster Abbey, is the only surviving work from the reign of Edward I (1239-1307) . The crypt is even older - early Norman and well worth a visit. In an alley way is The Mitre pub - still on the same site since 15th century. The reason, apart from it's age, it is regulary visited it has part of a tree growing inside the pub. Lastly, if you where living in the very early period of the Medieval Times and you where being chased by the King's men or the townsfolk and you managed to get to the gates of Ely Place you could claim sanctuary.

So go and pay it a visit it's free and part of Holborn heritage

Cheerio for now

El Moano

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