For just £29.50, The Ely Passport offers discounted entry to four of the city’s must-see attractions: Ely Cathedral, Ely Museum, The Stained-Glass Museum, and Oliver Cromwell’s House. With just one ticket, visitors gain access to an immersive experience of Ely’s extraordinary history, architecture, art and culture – all within a convenient 48-hour period.

The Passport has been created with both value and flexibility in mind. Whether you’re in the city for a day or a weekend, the 48-hour window allows ample time to explore each venue at your own pace, while still leaving room to enjoy Ely’s charming cafes, independent shops, riverside walks and welcoming pubs. Multiple entry to Ely Cathedral is also available, just in case you miss something and want to return during your stay.

“The Ely Passport is a fantastic way for visitors to experience the very best of our city in an easy, affordable and enjoyable way. By working together, our attractions are offering not just great value for money, but a joined-up visitor experience that encourages people to stay longer, explore more and discover everything Ely has to offer – from its heritage and culture to its shops, cafes and riverside walks.” Anna Bennett, Tourism Manager Visit Ely

The launch of the Ely Passport marks a milestone in collaborative tourism for the city. Ely Cathedral, Ely Museum, The Stained-Glass Museum and Oliver Cromwell’s House have worked closely together on the initiative, highlighting the power of partnership to enhance the visitor experience and support the local economy.

Each attraction offers a unique perspective on Ely’s rich and diverse story, from the awe-inspiring beauty of the Cathedral and the vibrant artistry of The Stained-Glass Museum to the engaging historical narratives found in Ely Museum and Oliver Cromwell’s House. Together, they provide a captivating picture of a city steeped in heritage and alive with culture.

The Ely Passport can be purchased at any of the participating attractions and is valid for 48 consecutive hours from the first use. It’s ideal for individuals, couples and families seeking a cost-effective way to discover the highlights of Ely without the hassle of multiple bookings.

With summer just around the corner, there’s never been a better time to discover, or rediscover, what Ely has to offer. The Ely Passport is your key to unlocking the best of the city on one simple, great-value ticket.

For more information, including pricing, opening times and where to buy the Ely Passport, please visit the links

To buy on-line  https://shorturl.at/YGwqo

To purchase in person: https://www.visitely.org.uk/the-ely-passport/

The post Explore More, Spend Less: Ely’s Top Attractions Join Forces to Launch the Money-Saving Ely Passport appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

The redevelopment scheme saw a complete stripping back of the building’s inside, removing modern walls and finishes to reveal original features and expose many areas and parts of the building which had been hidden from view in modern times. The new design boasts large, flowing open spaces, studded with the building’s original windows which bring in plenty of natural light, making the exhibition areas bright and airy throughout.

To the rear, the original Vernon Cross room has been repurposed to provide staff offices and facilities, storage and a new atrium with stairs and a lift, providing all important access for those with mobility needs, as well as pushchairs etc. Above this area is a fantastic new multi-purpose space, The Aedwen Room, which will host education workshops, community events and is available for private hire.

The exhibits are arranged with downstairs covering the pre-drainage fens and prehistory, with the upstairs displays covering the area following the extensive drainage works, which began in the 1630s. The new exhibits are laid out chronologically, taking you on a journey through Ely’s history all the way up to modern times. The downstairs exhibit features a fun design on the floor with images and symbols related to the nearby displays and creates a fantastic trail through the exhibit. The design is engaging and considered, with slick presentation and plenty of easy to digest material for all audiences. The displays are interspersed with multimedia content and tactile “touch and feel” materials throughout, sure to entertain children and help them to connect with the history in a visceral way.

Interactive exhibits, fun for all ages, are location throughout the exhibits. These include audio boxes and a fruit and veg stand. A series of 4 fun leaflet-based trails are also available from reception, sure to provide even more entertainment for the little ones. The Wise Woman’s Hut on the ground floor offers a place to sit and watch local fen folk tales brought to life through 3 wonderful animations, with authentic fen accent narration throughout, whilst upstairs you can listen to the stories of 5 local people who were imprisoned at the Old Gaol, inside what was originally the Debtors’ Jail.

The exhibition covers a wide range of subjects from dinosaurs, fossils and creation of early tools (including a fascinating video about the making of flint tools) to peat digging, fen lifestyles and drainage, Ely’s military history, trade, local culture and more. The final stop on the upper floor is “The Hub”. This area contains seating and touch-screen terminals where you can search through the museum’s catalogue of artefacts, many of which are not on current display. There is also a wealth of old and some more recent historical photographs on a variety of subjects, including many of Ely itself. The terminals also feature a selection of videos, many of which link to items/themes around the museum (you are directed to these as you go around) and are complemented by a range of books and reading materials.

Of course no museum visit would be complete without a visit to the gift shop and Ely Museums’ does not disappoint. There is a fantastic range of gifts, books and other mementos with something for all ages and tastes, from gemstones to paper-craft dinosaur kits, books by local authors, jewellery, keyrings and much more besides.

Ely has always had a strong offering for tourists, visitors and residents alike with Ely Cathedral, The Stained Glass Museum and Oliver Cromwell’s House – the new Ely Museum adds a modern, enjoyable and top-class fourth attraction and truly has done Ely proud.

Visit Ely Museum’s website now to book your tickets!

You can also watch our facebook live streamed tour (27 minutes) from opening day, Fri 21st May, 2021
with Emily, Ely Museum’s Community Engagement Officer

The post Ely Museum reopens, following its £2.2m redevelopment appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

With many people finding themselves learning and teaching from home again, the team from Ely Museum are delighted to share ‘History at Home’!

History at Home brings real and replica museum objects to life, shares worksheets and activities as well as crafts, songs and fun ideas to help you enjoy history lessons at home!

This week, meet Maximus the Roman soldier and learn about his armour and weapons and see real and replica Roman pottery, and learn about Anglo Saxon swords and the mysterious cursed brooch found just outside Ely! History at Home is a great way to bring history to life.

Building on the successes of #MuseumsFromHome which brought fun craft activities to over 100,000 people during the first lockdown and then Virtual Visits which live-streamed school visits to classrooms across Ely, History at Home will combine the two and make them free for all.

Emily Allen, Community Engagement Officer at Ely Museum says;“We’re delighted to bring History at Home to people in Ely and beyond – we know teaching and learning from home isn’t easy, and wanted to think of a way Ely Museum could support families and teachers alike. 

Now that the redevelopment of Ely Museum is almost complete, we were able to get back into the museum to film videos with some of our favourite objects and share real objects that people living in Ely thousands of years ago really made and used”

Beginning with Romans and Anglo Saxons, in the coming days and weeks the museum will continue to add more content on topics from fossils and dinosaurs to the Second World War.

History at Home is suitable for parents and teachers alike, and if anyone has a request for a future session, please contact the museum and we will do our best to cover these for you!

Visit our website to find History at Home: www.elymuseum.org.uk/history-at-home/

Press release from Ely Museum

The post History at Home with Ely Museum appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

Ely Museum takes their school visits online 

During lockdown, lots of people learnt new skills, and the team at Ely Museum were no different, except they decided to tackle virtual time travel! 

Suspecting that visiting schools in person during the autumn term would not be possible, the summer was spent devising a plan to bring everything students loved about our in-person visits to them virtually.  Classrooms have time travelled with us virtually to explore what life was like for people here in Ely as far back as the Stone Age! 

Thanks to a Heritage Emergency Fund grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the museum was able to purchase the necessary equipment to make live-streaming visits possible and began preparation and rehearsals in earnest over the summer. 

In the half of term so far, the Ely Museum team have livestreamed Maximus the Roman soldier, Cornelius Vermuyden 17th Century fen drainage engineer, Wilfreda the Wise Woman and several other characters into classrooms across East Cambridgeshire! In this way we have been able to continue bringing history to life for children – and through the wonders of technology, we’ve been able to add a few surprises into the sessions which would not have been possible at an in-person visit. 

With several virtual visits scheduled each week and lots more booked in for the rest of term, these remote sessions have proved that they can bring something a bit special to the normal classroom day. 

Sally Austin, Learning Officer at Ely Museum said; “Whilst Virtual Visits will always be very different from actual in person visits, and will never replace them, they have proved to be an excellent way to continue our education outreach in a way which works in these covid-constrained times.  We’ve been delighted with how popular the visits have proved to be and we know they are appreciated by teachers too”.

Virtual Visits with Ely Museum are adapted to suit the needs of each class. Whether it’s a question and answer live chat session with a Roman or an Anglo Saxon soldier, learning about his equipment as he prepares for battle, joining a farmer as we scare the birds from the Fenland fields, or trying on a gas mask in preparation for war, we will do our best to suit the needs of a particular topic.  If teachers have a particular request, please do get in contact with the museum and we’ll endeavour to help! 

Find out more about Virtual Visits with Ely Museum in our blog post here: www.elymuseum.org.uk/edu/virtual-visits-with-ely-museum  

Anne Jenkins, Director, England, Midlands & East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, supporting economic regeneration and benefiting our personal wellbeing. All of these things are going to be even more important as we emerge from this current crisis. 

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to be able to lend our support to organisations such as Ely Museum during this uncertain time.”

Press release from Ely Museum

The post Virtual Visits with Ely Museum appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

For nearly one hundred years men from Ely served in the Cambridgeshire Regiment or its forebears and Ely Museum would like your help identifying them in two photographs of the Ely Company.

As we approach Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, find Ely Museum at Ely Market on Saturday 9th November – our next outreach event, as we work in collaboration with the Cambridgeshire Regiment Research Trust

We delved into the Museum’s photographic archive and will be bringing along large copies of two fascinating images of the Cambridgeshire Regiment’s Ely Company from 1910 and 1938. We are inviting people to come along and see these wonderful images and hopefully spot a relative or two that they can help name for us.

Alongside these pictures we will be bringing along a selection of Second World War items from our handling collection and find our First World War soldier reenactor who will be able to answer your questions about his life in the Cambridgeshire Regiment.

A member of the Cambridgeshire Regiment Research Trust will also be on hand to answer questions and will be bringing along more photographs and a selection of local items for people to see.

Despite their decades of research the Cambridgeshire Regiment Research Trust are still searching for many missing photographs of the Regiment that they know were taken, including several important images of the Ely Company.

If you are descended from a Cambridgeshire Regiment soldier, or if you have pictures of the Regiment, please do come along and see us at Ely Market on 9th November, or please get in contact via their website www.cambridgeshireregiment1914-18.co.uk
Emily Allen, Community Engagement Officer at Ely Museum says;

“We’re excited to host our first market stall at the popular Ely Market this Remembrance Weekend. We have some great photos in our collection at the museum as well as lists of local soldiers – we’re hoping local people will be able to help us connect the two this weekend. We’ll also be bringing along a First World War soldier reenactor and lots of real artefacts and medals, a poignant reminder of the significance of this weekend”

Press release from Ely Museum

The post Find Ely Museum at Ely Market on Saturday 9th November appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

From archaeology to family history, landscape to landmarks, and much more in between, prepare to be inspired at this fun, interactive and informative event!

We are delighted to be welcoming representatives from Cambridgeshire Association for Local History, Cambridge Antiquarian Society, Cambridgeshire Community Archive Network, Cambridgeshire Family History, Cambridgeshire Geological Society, Cambridgeshire Records Society, Ely Museum, Huntingdonshire Local History Society, Prickwillow Engine Museum, Stretham Engine Trust, Visit Ely, The Word Garden, and West Norfolk and King’s Lynn Archaeological Society.

Huntingdonshire Local History Society will give a presentation on 200 Years of Historical Record Publishing in Cambridgeshire, and many stalls will also be selling Local History books and items.

Come along on Saturday 11^th May 9.30am-1pm, free entry

From Ely Library

The post Local History Fair at Ely Library appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

As usual this event and supporting exhibition are free for anyone to visit. In addition, this year entry to the rest of the Museum on this day (and on the 10th and 11th November) will also be completely free so as visitors can view a new display featuring the recently conserved King’ Colour of the 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment – ‘The Cambs Suffolks’.

Our team of researchers, including experts on local regiments such as the Cambridgeshire Regiment, Hunts Cyclists and the Suffolk Regiment, will be on hand all day on November 3rd to help any visitors that would like to find out more about the wartime service of their relatives. Visitors are also welcome to bring along any wartime photographs, postcards, medals, badges or items that they would like to find out more about. The event will also include our pop-up exhibition, which details the 1/1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment’s part in the fighting of 1918 – a year that saw the heaviest losses for the Battalion for any year of the War. Alongside this there will be a display of medals and biographies of some of the Cambs men involved in the 1918 fighting.

With this year marking the 100th anniversary of the Armistice this event is an excellent opportunity for people to talk directly (and for free!) to researchers with decades of experience in researching First World War soldiers and sailors. Many people have wartime photographs or medals sat in drawers at home, so why not bring them along and see what you will discover about your relatives!

Ely Museum is located on the corner of Market Street and Lynn Road only 250 metres away from the Cathedral’s west door.

Ely Museum’s opening hours are : Mon-Sat 10.30am – 4.00pm, Sun 1.00 – 4.00pm.

Adults £4.50, concessions £4.00, children 5-16 £1, under 5s free.

Tickets provide a year of free return entry.

Website www.elymuseum.org.uk.

Press release form Ely Museum 

The post First World War Family History Day appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

The post Sybil Marshall and Ewart Oakeshott appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

The post Soham Heritage and Tourism appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

Spotted in Ely – Issue 2 Now available to view above or download the full PDF version here

Nominate someone for the Random Acts of Kindness Competition by clicking here

The post Issue 2 – Feb/Mar 2015 – Spotted in Ely appeared first on Spotted in Ely.

The post Dare you visit the most haunted small city in Europe? appeared first on Spotted in Ely.