old when he came to Ely; but though upwards of eighty-six years
of age at the time, he remained abbot for more than twelve years. He
laid the foundations of the present church, and completed some part of
the building, as has been previously told. He died in 1093.[13]

King William II. immediately took possession of the abbey estates, let
them to various tenants, and appointed a receiver to pay the rents into
his treasury. This arrangement lasted during the remainder of his reign.

King Henry I., upon coming to the throne, at once "restored the
liberties" of the church, and made Richard (1100-1107) abbot. He was a
Norman and a kinsman of the king, as his grandfather, Earl Gilbert, was
descended from Robert, Duke of Normandy. He successfully resisted the
claim of the Bishop of Lincoln to give him benediction, though Simeon
had received benediction from Bishop Remigius. In the Council of London,
in 1102, Abbot Richard, with many others, was deposed. "Anselmus
archiepiscopus, concilio convocato apud Londiniam, rege consentiente,
plures deposuit abbates vel propter simoniam vel propter aliam vitae
infamiam."[14] The abbots of Burgh, Ramsey, and Ely were three of nine
so deposed. The "Liber Eliensis" attributes Richard's deposition to the
intrigues of the Court. The pope annulled the sentence in the following
year. This abbot proceeded with the building of the church, and seems to
have finished the Norman transepts and choir, and perhaps the whole of
the Norman tower. He is, however, most worthy of note from having been
the first to suggest the creation of the See of Ely. He submitted the
idea to the king, who was quite favourable; and he then sent messengers
to the pope to obtain his approval. Before this could be secured the
abbot died, but in little more than two years after his death the
proposal was carried into effect.

Richard was the last of the ten abbots. Hervey, Bishop of Bangor, had
the management of the affairs of the abbey for the next two years. His
rigorous discipline at Bangor had aroused very violent opposition, which
came at last to armed insurrection, and the bishop had withdrawn to the
king's court for safety. When appointed administrator of the abbey at
Ely, he exerted himself to bring to a successful conclusion the creation
of the bishopric. The consent of the Bishop of Lincoln to the
subdivision of his diocese was secured by a grant of the Manor of
Spaldwick. At a Council of London in 1108 the enormou