Bishop's Furrow

One of England's greatest cathedrals is Ely, a Norman-to-perpendicular pile which stands on an eminence commanding the fen country of Cambridgeshire. Named for the eels abounding in its waters, eely Ely is a market town of only 8,000-odd inhabitants. Its fairs, held on the feast of Saxon St. Etheldreda (or St. Audrey, whence the word tawdry), are still nominally run by the Bishop of Ely. There is not much else for His Lordship to do in Ely; nearby Cambridge has more religious life, and there the Ely diocesan conferences are held. Yet, because he is a member of the Established Church of England, drawing -L-4,000 a year ($16,000) from the Government, the Bishop of Ely must live in his ancient see, in a Tudor palace whose whole top floor and one wing are closed.

After five years in office, the present (and 62nd) Bishop of Ely, Rt. Rev. Dr. Bernard Oliver Francis Heywood, concluded that he would be getting a bargain if he could sacrifice a fourth of his salary and give up the palace. Said the Bishop to his diocesan conference: "The idea that the Church is concerned largely with the upper classes is steadily growing, and I think it is due in part to the fact that we bishops are forced to live in vast houses which are symbols of aloofness. . . . We keep too many gardeners to grow too many vegetables to feed too many servants to make too many beds.

"I should like to see the palace turned into a home for people fallen on evil days at the end of their lives. If they had ten bob [$2] a week--or even less--they could come here and live in a nice house with a common room and a pleasant garden to walk in. ... One cannot let a bishop's palace any more than one can let a vicarage; that is one of the penalties we pay for Establishment. ... If I were allowed to move into a smaller house I should be better off... despite the fact that I should be giving up -L-1,000 a year. ... I fear I have a very long furrow to drive." Well did His Lordship of Ely realize that there was little hope that his wish would be granted.

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