s
also at Durham and Carlisle; but at those cathedrals there is a throne
for the bishop, and the bishop's seat in a stall in the south,
corresponding to the dean's in the north, is not met with elsewhere. "At
Ely alone, of all cathedrals in Christendom, owing to its first bishop
having been an abbot who was himself the banished bishop of another see,
the diocesan has continued to occupy the abbot's stall, while the head
of the corporation (before the Reformation a prior, and since then a
dean) has occupied the opposite stall, usually assigned to a sub-prior
or sub-dean."[18] There were three Benedictine abbeys which retained
their monastic establishment after a bishop had been made and the
minster became a cathedral--Canterbury, Durham, and Ely.

It is always taken for granted that the destruction of the beautiful
work in the lady-chapel, as well as of the shrines and statuary in the
cathedral, was effected very soon after the dissolution of the
monastery; but precise authority for this seems not to be forthcoming.
It is known that Bishop Goodrich was an ardent supporter of the
Reformation movement, and that he issued an injunction in 1541 which
would have authorised such destruction. There was no other material
damage done to the cathedral at this time. In 1566 a parish church,
dedicated to S. Cross, which was situated at the north side of the nave,
was found to be so dilapidated that no attempt was made to render it fit
for service, and the dean and chapter gave to the parishioners the
lady-chapel for a parish church, and it has so remained to this day.

It is probable that the wealth of the monastery had kept the fabric
itself in such a state of complete repair that there was no occasion for
much sustentation work for a long time after the Reformation--at least,
we read nothing of any work being undertaken or of any portions of the
building falling into decay. In the Commonwealth period the cathedral
suffered less than in many places. The stained glass was indeed
destroyed, and the cloisters and some parts of the domestic buildings
pulled down, by order of commissioners. As Oliver Cromwell was Governor
of the Isle of Ely, and often in the city, he was not likely to let the
cathedral services alone. In January, 1644, he interfered during
service, and stopped it, ejecting the congregation, and is said to have
professed that this was an act of kindness, in order to prevent damage
to the building. According to Carlyle,[