Triple Arch, Ely Cathedral, England
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 52° 23.931 E 000° 15.695
31U E 313700 N 5808929
Great Britain’s 1989 Christmas stamps featured various details from Ely Cathedral, including this triple arch located on the southwest transept.
Waymark Code: WM118PB
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/07/2019
Views: 5
At over 800 years old, Ely Cathedral has practically been a “work in progress” since the day the first stone was laid in 1083. The Norman building was completed in 1189 but construction continued for two more centuries. Maintenance, repairs, updates and additions to ornamentation have continued up through the present day. Since the builders employed whatever design elements were in vogue at the time, and construction took so long, the resulting building became a pastiche of Medieval architectural styles from early Romanesque through Gothic.
The stamp was part of Great Britain’s annual Christmas issue for 1989 and indirectly commemorated the 800th anniversary of the completion of the Norman building. This particular stamp carried the highest denomination of the set and included an additional 1p surcharge for UK Charities. Each stamp in the set shows a stylized detail of the cathedral rather than the entire building which is huge. The detail shown on this stamp is a Gothic style triple arch found on the cathedral’s southwest transept.
In addition to the triple arch detail, the stamp shows a medieval peasant figure found on a stained-glass window in the Lady Chapel. Most of the ornamentation in this chapel was destroyed during the sixteenth century but one original stained-glass panel, high up on the south wall, still remains. Peasants are quite rare in medieval stained-glass as it usually shows religious figures or nobility.
Stamp Issuing Country: Great Britain
Date of Issue: 14-Nov-1989
Denomination: 37p + 1p
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for this category, you must visit the actual site of the waymark. Post at least one photo that you personally took of the site if at all possible. If you cannot provide a photo for some reason, your visit will still be welcome.
You do NOT need to be a stamp collector to visit the waymark site, nor do you have to provide a photo of the stamp. Just having a copy of the stamp in question, however, is not sufficient; you must personally visit the site.