With a little time to kill before I caught a train home from visiting Ely Cathedral I decided to head to Ely Museum at the Old Goal as it seemed small enough that it wouldn’t take long to see everything. Admission was a reasonable £4.50 and I found the museum very interesting.
The museum building was originally the bishop of Ely’s goal from 1679 until 1836 and the pretty paved yard at the entrance is where prisoners took their exercise.
The museum takes us through Ely’s history from its earliest settlers to the World Wars and the present. Several of the items I particularly liked were –
The East Cambridgeshire Gold Torc. Dating from the Bronze Age it was discovered in East Cambridgeshire in 2015. It’s one of the largest found in the UK made of 730g of almost pure gold. It’s use isn’t clear – it might have been worn by a pregnant woman as a form of protection or used as an ornament for a sacrificial animal.
This lovely model of Ely Cathedral made with 5,450 matches.
The replica prison cell was a little gory though!
A nice little museum it’s currently undergoing some renovations so do check the website before visiting. You can find some more photos here.
Louise Jayne's Blog 