A town council , city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities .
84-601: (Redirected from Municipal Assembly ) Municipal assembly is generally synonymous with town council , a body of citizens who govern a town or municipality. It may refer to: Assembleia Municipal in Portugal Municipal assembly (Sweden) People's Municipal Assembly in Algeria Town meeting in the United States Topics referred to by
168-483: A Group Representation Constituency (GRC), a Single Member Constituency (SMC), or a collection of neighbouring GRCs and SMCs controlled by the same political party. The Members of Parliament head the town councils of their constituencies. Town councils boundaries do not correspond to new town boundaries; different parts of the same HDB town may be managed by different town councils. Ely, Cambridgeshire Ely ( / ˈ iː l i / EE -lee )
252-421: A city . However, this is often abbreviated simply to mayor, especially where the town was historically a borough or city, such as Lewes or Ely . In Scotland , the term ' provost ' is commonly used to designate the leader of the town council. Historically the term 'town council' was used for the governing body of a municipal borough until the 1972 Act . In Wales , where the lowest tier of local government
336-518: A building material. Ampthill Clay was dug from the local area for the maintenance of river banks and Kimmeridge Clay at Roswell Pits for the making of pottery wares. In general, from a geological perspective, "The district is almost entirely agricultural and has always been so. The only mineral worked at the present time is gravel for aggregate, although chalk, brick clay (Ampthill and Kimmeridge clays), phosphate (from Woburn Sands, Gault and Cambridge Greensand), sand and gravel, and peat have been worked on
420-616: A city form of government but prefer to retain the "town of" in their names. In several communities which have adopted such a government, the official name of the community is "The City known as the Town of..." The legislative body of a legal town in Massachusetts is a town meeting ; the executive board is a board of selectmen . In addition to having the structure of a city with a mayor and council, cities in Massachusetts can enact ordinances, while towns may adopt by-laws, which are subject to
504-465: A fireworks display in Ely Park, first staged in 1974. The city of Ely has been twinned with Denmark's oldest town, Ribe , since 1956. Ely City Football Club was formed in 1885. Roswell Pits are a palaeontologically significant Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) one mile (1.6 km) northeast of the city. The Jurassic Kimmeridge Clays were quarried in the 19th and 20th centuries for
588-571: A former Kimmeridge Clay quarry, and one of the United Kingdom's best remaining examples of medieval ridge and furrow agriculture. The economy of the region is mainly agricultural. Before the Fens were drained, eel fishing was an important activity, from which the settlement's name may have been derived. Other important activities included wildfowling , peat extraction, and the harvesting of osier (willow) and sedge (rush). The city had been
672-535: A hypothetical word *ġē , which is not recorded in isolation but thought by some to be related to the modern German word Gau , meaning "district". The theory is that the name then developed a vowel to become ēliġē , and was afterwards re-interpreted to mean "Eel Island". This essentially is the explanation accepted by Reaney, Ekwall, Mills and Watts. But difficulties remain. Bailey, in his discussion of ġē names, has pointed out that Ely would be anomalous if really from ēlġē "eel district", being remote from
756-524: A plaque recording this martyrdom event was erected on the northeast corner of Palace Green by the City of Ely Perspective. The plaque is located 2 inches from the pavement floor in an obscure, easily missed corner. Oliver Cromwell lived in Ely from 1636 to 1646 after inheriting St Mary's vicarage, a sixteenth-century property—now known as Oliver Cromwell's House — from his mother's brother, Sir Thomas Steward. It
840-551: A possible farmstead, of the late Iron Age to early Roman period, was discovered at West Fen Road and some Roman pottery was found close to the east end of the cathedral on The Paddock. There was a Roman settlement, including a tile kiln built over an earlier Iron Age settlement, in Little Thetford , three miles (5 km) to the south. The origin and meaning of Ely's name have always been deemed obscure by place-name scholars, and are still disputed. The earliest record of
924-453: A rich and fertile soil ideal for farming. The River Great Ouse was a significant means of transport until the Fens were drained and Ely ceased to be an island in the seventeenth century. The river is now a popular boating spot, and has a large marina. Although now surrounded by land, the city is still known as the Isle of Ely. There are two Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the city:
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#17327658718001008-464: A salary'. He records that the number of debtors outnumbered the number of felons in the prison. On his way to a Midlands tour, John Byng visited Ely on 5 July 1790 staying at the Lamb Inn. In his diary he writes that "the town [Ely] is mean, to the extreme ... those withdrawn, their dependancies must decay". Recording in his Rural Rides on 25 March 1830, William Cobbett reports that "Ely
1092-532: A shame [the Bishop] does not see it better ordered and y buildings and streetes put in a better Condition. They are a slothful people and for little but y takeing Care of their Grounds and Cattle w is of vast advantage". Daniel Defoe, when writing in the Eastern Counties section of A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain (1722), went "to Ely, whose cathedral, standing in a level flat country,
1176-571: A small scale in the past". Phosphate nodules, referred to locally as coprolites , were dug in the area surrounding Ely between 1850 and 1890 for use as an agricultural fertiliser . This industry provided significant employment for the local labour force. One of the largest sugar beet factories in England was opened in Queen Adelaide , two miles (3 km) from the centre of Ely, in 1925. The factory closed in 1981, although sugar beet
1260-402: Is Cambridge. Additional local weather stations report periodic figures to the internet such as Weather Underground , Inc. The Domesday survey of 1086 revealed 110 households which were mainly rural. In 1251, a survey showed an increase to 345 households with the start of urban living although still largely rural. By the 1416 survey there were 457 occupied premises in the city and many of
1344-539: Is a cathedral city and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire , England, about 14 miles (23 km) north-northeast of Cambridge , 24 miles (39 km) south east of Peterborough and 80 miles (130 km) from London. As of the 2021 census , Ely is recorded as having a population of 19,200 (rounded to the nearest 100). Ely is built on a 23-square-mile (60 km ) Kimmeridge Clay island which, at 85 feet (26 m),
1428-537: Is capped by Boulder Clay ; all local settlements, such as Stretham and Littleport , are on similar islands. These islands rise above the surrounding flat land which forms the largest plain of Britain from the Jurassic system of partly consolidated clays or muds. Kimmeridge Clay beds dipping gently west underlie the Lower Greensand of the area exposed, for example, about one mile (2 km) south of Ely in
1512-485: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Town council Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissioners were redesignated as 75 town councils as a tier of local government below the county council. Five additional local authorities retained the higher status as borough councils. All 80 second-tier municipal authorities were abolished under
1596-572: Is known as a community , the Community Council may unilaterally declare itself to be a Town Council, but this has the same status as a Community Council. Township councils in Ontario play a similar role as city councils in cities for smaller or low tier municipalities. Directly elected every four years, the number of councillors vary depending on the size of their municipalities. The councillors powers and responsibilities are governed by
1680-627: Is now a residential building, Tower Court. Two other former workhouses were the Haven Quayside for unmarried mothers and another on the site of what is now the Hereward Hall in Silver Street. The diaries of writers and journalists such as William Camden , Celia Fiennes , Daniel Defoe , John Byng and William Cobbett illustrate the decline of Ely after the 14th century plague and the 16th century reformation which led to
1764-448: Is possible to visit this house today. During this time Cromwell was a tax collector, though was also one of the governors of Thomas Parsons' Charity, which dates back to 1445 and was granted a Royal Charter by Charles I of England . The Charity still provides grants and housing to deserving local applicants. There was a form of early workhouse in 1687, perhaps at St Mary's, which may have been part of an arrangement made between
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#17327658718001848-458: Is seen far and wide ... that some of it is so antient, totters so much with every gust of wind, looks so like a decay, and seems so near it, that when ever it does fall, all that 'tis likely will be thought strange in it, will be, that it did not fall a hundred years sooner". The prison reformer John Howard visited Ely and described the conditions in The Gaol:- 'This gaol the property of
1932-518: Is still farmed locally. Pottery was made in Ely from the 12th century until 1860: records show around 80 people who classed their trade as potters. "Babylon ware" is the name given to pottery made in one area of Ely. This ware is thought to be so named because there were potters in an area cut off from the centre by the re-routing of the River Great Ouse around 1200; by the seventeenth century this area had become known as Babylon. Although
2016-488: Is the highest land in the Fens . It was due to this topography that Ely was not waterlogged like the surrounding Fenland, and was an island separated from the mainland. Major rivers including the Witham , Welland , Nene and Great Ouse feed into the Fens and, until draining commenced in the eighteenth century, formed freshwater marshes and meres within which peat was laid down. Once the Fens were drained, this peat created
2100-535: Is the largest collection of medieval buildings still in daily use in this country". The abbey at Ely was one of many which were refounded in the Benedictine reforms of King Edgar the Peaceful (943–975). The "special and peculiarly ancient" honour and freedoms given to Ely by charter at that time may have been intended to award only fiscal privilege, but have been interpreted to confer on subsequent bishops
2184-526: Is the site of Ely Castle which is of Norman construction and is a United Kingdom scheduled monument . Of similar construction to Cambridge Castle , the 250-foot (76 m) diameter, 40 feet (12 m) high citadel-type motte and bailey is thought to be a royal defence built by William the Conqueror following submission of the Isle from rebels such as the Earl Morcar and the folk-hero Hereward
2268-566: Is what one may call a miserable little town: very prettily situated, but poor and mean. Everything seems to be on the decline, as, indeed, is the case everywhere, where the clergy are the masters". The Ely and Littleport riots occurred between 22 and 24 May 1816. At the Special Commission assizes, held at Ely between 17 and 22 June 1816, twenty-four rioters were condemned. Nineteen had their sentences variously commuted from penal transportation for life to twelve-months imprisonment;
2352-477: The Municipal Act . Manitoba town council members serve primarily as a policy and direction board for the community. They consist of five to seven members with the head of council being the mayor or reeve . Indiana town council members serve as both the executive and legislative branches for small communities incorporated as towns within the state. They consist of three or five members, depending upon
2436-559: The Cambridgeshire County Council the city returns two councillors. The city was governed by a local board from 1850 until 1894, when it became the City of Ely Urban District Council , which then operated from 1894 to 1974. The Isle of Ely County Council governed the Isle of Ely administrative county that surrounding and included the city from 1889 to 1965. In 1965 there was a reform of local government that merged
2520-540: The Local Government Act 1972 , "town council" is the specific name for a civil parish council which has declared itself by resolution to be a town council. If another type of local council, such as a district authority, covers a single town (such as Luton or Stevenage ) then the council is often a 'borough council': borough status is however conferred at the discretion of the Crown . Civil parishes are
2604-628: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 , with effect at the 2014 Irish local elections . There are currently seven town councils in Belize . Each town council consists of a mayor and a number of councillors, who are directly elected in municipal elections every three years. Town councils in Belize are responsible for a range of functions, including street maintenance and lighting, drainage, refuse collection, public cemeteries, infrastructure, parks and playgrounds. In England , since
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2688-542: The Municipality of Esbjerg ; officials from Ribe first came to Ely in 1957. The golden anniversary of this twinning was celebrated in 2006. Exchange visits occur roughly every two years. The city of Ely has several visitor attractions, including The Stained Glass Museum, the only museum dedicated to stained glass in the UK. The Stained Glass Museum is located inside Ely Cathedral and has a collection of stained glass from
2772-558: The Roswell Pits . The Lower Greensand is partly capped by glacial deposits forming the highest point in East Cambridgeshire , rising to 85 feet (26 m) above sea level in Ely. The low-lying fens surrounding the island of Ely were formed, prior to the 17th century, by alternate fresh-water and sea-water incursions. Major rivers in the region, including the Witham , Welland , Nene and Great Ouse , drain an area of some 6,000 square miles (16,000 km )—five times larger than
2856-694: The Sandy Heath TV transmitter. Ely's local radio stations are BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on 96.0 FM, Heart East on 103.0 FM and Star Radio on 107.1. Local newspapers are the Ely Standard and Cambridge News . A cannon, captured during the Crimean War at the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) and given to Ely by Queen Victoria in 1860, is located on Palace Green, west of the cathedral. The inscription reads "Russian cannon captured during
2940-554: The dissolution of the monastery in 1539. In the 1607 edition of Britannia , chorographic surveyor William Camden records that "as for Ely it selfe, it is no small Citie, or greatly to be counted off either for beauty or frequency and resort, as having an unwholsome aire by reason of the fens round about". In 1698, Celia Fiennes was writing "the Bishop [ Simon Patrick ] does not Care to stay long in this place not being for his health ... they have lost their Charter ... and its
3024-791: The smallest cities in England ; although the population has increased noticeably since 1991 when it was recorded at 11,291. Its urban area brings Ely into the ten of smallest sized cities (1.84 sq mi—4.77 km ), but by city council area it is much larger in coverage (22.86 sq mi—59.21 km ) than many others. For elections to the UK Parliament, Ely is part of the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency. There are three tiers of local government covering Ely, at parish (city), district, and county level: City of Ely Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council , and Cambridgeshire County Council . Regular elections take place to
3108-543: The 13th century to the present day. Ely Museum, housed in the old city gaol, is a local history museum which tells the story of Ely and the surrounding Fens from pre-historic times to the present day. Oliver Cromwell's House is the former family home of Oliver Cromwell , and houses an exhibition about Cromwell and the English Civil War . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia . The city receives its television signals from
3192-600: The City of Ely Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. The civil parish is divided into four wards called Ely North, Ely South, Ely East and Ely West. Fourteen councillors are elected to the parish council. The East Cambridgeshire District Council is also based in Ely. For elections to the East Cambridgeshire District Council the four wards of Ely South, Ely East and Ely West each return two district councillors; and Ely North returns three. For elections to
3276-725: The Crimean War presented to the people of Ely by Queen Victoria in 1860 to mark the creation of the Ely Rifle Volunteers". The cannon was cast at the Alexandrovski factory in 1802, the factory's director being the Englishman, Charles Gascoigne . The serial number is 8726. The calibre is 30 pounds (14 kg) and the weight is 252 poods , or about 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg). The cannon is mounted on an iron carriage which would previously have been mounted on
3360-533: The Ely people and a Nicholas Wythers of Norwich in 1675. He was paid £30 per annum to employ the poor to "spin jersey" and was to pay them in money not goods. A purpose-built workhouse was erected in 1725 for 35 inmates on what is now St Mary's Court. Four other workhouses existed, including Holy Trinity on Fore Hill for 80 inmates (1738–1956) and the Ely Union workhouse, built in 1837, which housed up to 300 inmates. The latter became Tower Hospital in 1948 and
3444-654: The General Law Village Act (Act 3) of 1895. Village councils consist of elected officials, including a village president, trustees, clerk, and treasurer. In New Hampshire , the Town Council is an elected body which serves as the legislative and executive body of the town. The town is governed by a charter , which is allowed under the home rule provision of the New Hampshire Constitution (Pt I, Art. 39) and Title III of
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3528-632: The New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated. The charter for a Town Council must meet the following requirements of RSA 49-D:3 I. (a) – (e) and all other applicable laws. The basic notion of home rule in New Hampshire is that local communities are not allowed to supersede the authority specifically granted to them by the state. The Official Ballot Town Council is a variant form of the Town Council. In
3612-623: The Official Ballot Town Council is required by law to specify specifically: The charter also must specify whether a 2 ⁄ 3 or 3 ⁄ 5 majority vote is required to approve bonds or notes, with the default being 2 ⁄ 3 . The Palestinian National Authority established village councils to serve as local administrations and service providers for Palestinian villages and small towns. Village councils are also referred to as D-level municipalities. In Singapore, town councils are in charge of maintaining
3696-496: The Official Ballot form of government, the town council is vested with the limited authority to vote on all matters not voted on by official ballot. The authority and restrictions on the Official Ballot town council is the same as the Town Council, except with respect to those matters specified to be voted on by official ballot. Also, the council decides what is placed on the ballot, not the registered voters. The charter of
3780-458: The Wake . This would date the first building of the castle to c. 1070. Henry III of England granted a market to the Bishop of Ely using letters close on 9 April 1224 although Ely had been a trading centre prior to this. Present weekly market days are Thursday and Saturday and seasonal markets are held monthly on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from Easter to November. Following
3864-579: The abbot and convent on 10 October 1189. At this fair, cheap necklaces, made from brightly coloured silk, were sold—these were called "tawdry lace". "Tawdry", a corruption of "Saint Audrey", now means "pertaining to the nature of cheap and gaudy finery". Two other fairs, the 15‑day festival of St Lambert, first granted in 1312 and the 22‑day fair beginning on the Vigil of the Ascension , first granted in 1318. The festival of St Lambert had stopped by
3948-582: The abbot and convent on 10 October 1189. The word "tawdry" originates from cheap lace sold at this fair. A weekly market has taken place in Ely Market Square since at least the 13th century. Markets are now held on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with a farmers' market on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month. Present-day annual events include the Eel Festival in May, established in 2004, and
4032-540: The accession of Mary I of England to the throne in 1553, the papacy made its first effective efforts to enforce the Pope Paul III -initiated Catholic reforms in England. During this time, which became known as the Marian Persecutions , two men from Wisbech , constable William Wolsey and painter Robert Pygot, "were accused of not ... believing that the body and blood of Christ were present in
4116-479: The annual fireworks display in Ely Park, first staged in 1974. The Ely Folk Festival has been held in the city since 1985. The Ely Horticultural Society have been staging their Great Autumn Show since 1927. In 2018 Ely hosted the 'Pride' festival, celebrating LGBT and diversity. At the inaugural festival 'For The Hornets' headlined and the cathedral flew the pride rainbow flag. Since September 1956, Ely has been twinned with Ribe , Denmark's oldest town and part of
4200-677: The approval of the Attorney General . City ordinances are presumed to be legal unless challenged and set aside in court. See Massachusetts Government . In Michigan , there are 257 incorporated villages that are governed by village councils, which is a form of weak–mayor administration. Michigan does not use "town" as a defined municipality, and villages are the lowest-level form of incorporated municipality. Villages are distinct from cities in that they share certain duties with their surrounding township and are not completely autonomous. Guidelines for village governments are defined in
4284-474: The areas where possible examples of ġē names occur, and moreover, there is no parallel for the use of a fish-name in compounds with ġē . More seriously, the usual English spelling remains Elig , even in the dative case used after many prepositions, where Elige would be expected if the second element were īġ "island". This is in conflict with all the other island names which surround Ely. Problems also remain, as pointed out by historian Mac Dowdy, as
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#17327658718004368-591: The authority and power of a ruler. These rights were reconfirmed in charters granted by Edward the Confessor and in William the Conqueror 's confirmation of the old English liberty at Kenford. The Isle of Ely was mentioned in some statutes as a county palatine ; this provided an explanation of the bishop's royal privileges and judicial authority, which would normally belong to the sovereign; but legal authorities such as Sir Edward Coke did not completely endorse
4452-464: The bishop, who is lord of the franchise of the Isle of Ely, was in part rebuilt by the late bishop about ten years ago; upon complaint of the cruel method* which for want of a safe gaol, the Keeper took to secure his prisoners (*This was by chaining them down upon their backs on a floor, across which were several iron bars and iron collar with spikes about their neck). The gaoler John Allday did not receive
4536-486: The bread and wine of the sacrament of mass". For this Christian heresy they were condemned by the bishop's chancellor, John Fuller , on 9 October 1555. On 16 October 1555 they were burnt at the stake "probably on the Palace Green in front of Ely Cathedral". In The Book of Ely published in 1990, Blakeman writes that "permission was not given" for a memorial to the martyrs to be placed on Palace Green. In 2011,
4620-478: The cathedral its distinctive shape, earning it the moniker, "The Ship of the Fens". [2] Building continued until the dissolution of the abbey in 1539 during the Reformation . The cathedral was sympathetically restored between 1845 and 1870 by the architect George Gilbert Scott . As the seat of a diocese , Ely has long been considered a city; in 1974, city status was granted by royal charter . Cherry Hill
4704-484: The centre of local pottery production for more than 700 years, including pottery known as Babylon ware. A Roman road , Akeman Street , passes through the city; the southern end is at Ermine Street near Wimpole and its northern end is at Brancaster . Little direct evidence of Roman occupation in Ely exists, although there are nearby Roman settlements such as those at Little Thetford and Stretham . A coach route, known to have existed in 1753 between Ely and Cambridge,
4788-401: The collapse of the original nave crossing on 22 February 1322. Ely's octagon is considered "one of the wonders of the medieval world". Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner believes the octagon "is a delight from beginning to end for anyone who feels for space as strongly as for construction" and is the "greatest individual achievement of architectural genius at Ely Cathedral". This gave
4872-729: The common areas of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats and estates, such as the common corridors, void decks , lifts, water tanks, external lighting and the open spaces surrounding the estates. They are regulated under the Town Councils Act ;( Cap. 329A, 2000 Rev. Ed. ). The rationale was to delegate the duties of estate management to the members of parliament in addition to their existing responsibilities. They would also gain management experience and be accountable to their district's resident voters. Town councils boundaries are drawn based on electoral districts boundaries. A town council area can consist of
4956-610: The county council with that of Cambridgeshire to form the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely County Council . In 1974 as part of a national reform of local government, the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely County Council merged with the Huntingdon and Peterborough County Council to form the Cambridgeshire County Council . The City of Ely Urban District Council became the City of Ely Council , a parish council which covers
5040-571: The eighteenth century. St Etheldreda's and the Vigil of the Ascension markets still continue, although the number of days have been considerably reduced and the dates have changed. Present-day annual events in Ely include Aquafest, which has been staged at the riverside by the Rotary Club on the first Sunday of July since 1978. Other events include the Eel Day carnival procession and
5124-572: The fens continue to be drained to this day. With an average annual rainfall of 24 inches (600 mm), Cambridgeshire is one of the driest counties in the British Isles . Protected from the cool onshore coastal breezes east of the region, Cambridgeshire is warm in summer and cold and frosty in winter. Regional weather forecasting and historical summaries are available from the UK Met Office . The nearest Met Office weather station
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#17327658718005208-417: The fens—into the basin that forms the fens. Defoe in 1774 described the Fens as "the sink of no less than thirteen Counties". On 23 November of that year, Church of England cleric and Christian theologician John Wesley , wrote of his approach to Ely after visiting Norwich: "about eight, Wednesday, 23, Mr. Dancer met me with a chaise [carriage] and carried me to Ely. Oh, what want of common sense! Water covered
5292-408: The flatness of the fens". In 1954, architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner wrote "as one approaches Ely on foot or on a bicycle, or perhaps in an open car, the cathedral dominates the picture for miles around ... and offers from everywhere an outline different from that of any other English cathedral". Local historian Pamela Blakeman reports a claim that "Grouped around [the cathedral] ...
5376-405: The form of words. These bishop's rights were not fully extinguished until 1837. As the seat of a diocese , Ely has long been considered a city, holding the status by ancient prescriptive right : the caption to John Speed 's 1610 plan of Ely reads "Although this Citie of Ely", and Aikin refers to Ely as a city in 1800. When Ely was given a Local Board of Health by Queen Victoria in 1850,
5460-451: The high road for a mile and a half. I asked, 'How must foot-people come to the town?' 'Why, they must wade through! ' " Peat formed in the fresh-water swamps and meres whilst silts were deposited by the slow-moving sea-water. Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford , supported by Parliament, financed the draining of the fens during the 17th century, led by the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden ;
5544-408: The most local level in the local government system. The higher levels are district , unitary and county . However town councils are not subordinate in democratic accountability to those higher levels, but to the electorate of their civil parish area. The chair of a town council is entitled to be styled as "town mayor". This term contrasts with simply "mayor", which means the mayor of a borough or
5628-673: The name is in the Latin text of Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of the English People , where he wrote Elge . This is apparently not a Latin name, and subsequent Latin texts nearly all used the forms Elia , Eli , or Heli with inorganic H- . In Old English charters, and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , the spelling is usually Elig . Skeat derived the name Ely from what he called "O[ld] Northumbrian " ēlġē , meaning "district of eels ". This uses
5712-552: The order creating the board said it was to cover the "city of Ely". The local board which governed the city from 1850 to 1894 called itself "City of Ely Local Board", and the urban district council which replaced it and governed the city from 1894 to 1974 similarly called itself "City of Ely Urban District Council". Ely's city status was not explicitly confirmed, however, until 1 April 1974 when Queen Elizabeth II granted letters patent , to its civil parish. Ely's population of 20,256 (as recorded in 2011) classifies it as one of
5796-496: The production of pottery and for maintenance of river embankments. Many specimens of ammonites , belemnites and bivalves were found during quarrying, in addition to an almost complete specimen of a pliosaur . There is some scattered evidence of Late Mesolithic to Bronze Age activity in Ely such as Neolithic flint tools, a Bronze Age axe and spearhead. There is slightly denser Iron Age and Roman activity with some evidence of at least seasonal occupation. For example,
5880-410: The reason for the name is unclear, by 1850 it was in official use on maps. The building of the Ely to King's Lynn railway in 1847 cut the area off even further, and the inhabitants could only cross to Ely by boat. Annual fairs have been held in Ely since the twelfth century. Saint Audrey's ( Etheldreda 's) seven-day fair, held either side of 23 June, was first granted officially by Henry I to
5964-401: The remaining five were executed on 28 June 1816. An outbreak of cholera isolated Ely in 1832. Ely Cathedral was "the first great cathedral to be thoroughly restored". Work commenced in 1845 and was completed nearly thirty years later; most of the work was "sympathetically" carried out by the architect George Gilbert Scott . The only pavement labyrinth to be found in an English cathedral
6048-613: The same area but with fewer powers, and the East Cambridgeshire District Council which covers a wider area. The west of Cambridgeshire is made up of limestones from the Jurassic period, whilst the east Cambridgeshire area consists of Cretaceous (upper Mesozoic ) chalks known locally as clunch . In between these two major formations, the high ground forming the Isle of Ely is from a lower division Cretaceous system known as Lower Greensand which
6132-433: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Municipal assembly . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Municipal_assembly&oldid=1181704190 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
6216-397: The streets were arranged much as they are today. See also the cartographer John Speed's plan of Ely, 1610. In 1563 there were 800 households and by 1753 the population was recorded as 3,000. As an island surrounded by marshes and meres, the fishing of eels was important as both a food and an income for the abbot and his nearby tenants. For example, to the abbot of Ely in 1086, Stuntenei
6300-445: The town council hold an organising meeting, where they elect a president to set future agendas and act as an official spokesman for the town or as liaison between the town and state and county government. Indiana town councils work in conjunction with an elected town clerk , who manages the day-to-day business of the municipal government. As an elected official, the town clerk is solely executive in function and operates independently of
6384-527: The town council. But the council has final say on budgets which clerks depend upon to operate. In addition to a clerk, the council can authorise the hiring of other staff to run the operations of government, including law enforcement officers, utility workers, park and recreation employees and town managers . These employees serve at the pleasure of the council. Town councils in Massachusetts are essentially city councils in towns which have adopted
6468-482: The town's population. Unlike some states, Indiana councilmembers must declare a political party affiliation, if any, when they file to run for office. Upon election in November, they are sworn in before 1 January of the following year, where they serve a four-year term. There are no state term limits affecting how many times a candidate may run for re-election to office. The first meeting after an election, members of
6552-442: The trees would be called 'a willow'. The city's origins lay in the foundation of an abbey in 673, one mile (1.6 km) to the north of the village of Cratendune on the Isle of Ely, under the protection of Saint Etheldreda , daughter of King Anna . St Etheldreda (also known as Æthelthryth ) was a queen, founder and abbess of Ely. She built a monastery in 673 AD, on the site of what is now Ely Cathedral . [1] This first abbey
6636-414: The word eel (or similar) did not exist at the time of the founding of Ely, and they were instead referred to as aguilla or anguilles until the 1300s. Mac proposes that instead the city gets its name from the word "Elysium", later shortened to Ely. This is believed as Etheldreda 's chamberlain, Ovin, described it as "an ancient place of great spiritual importance to the people of the region, a paradise". This
6720-482: Was destroyed in 870 by Danish invaders and rededicated to Etheldreda in 970 by Ethelwold , Bishop of Winchester . The abbots of Ely then accumulated such wealth in the region that in the Domesday survey (1086) it was the "second richest monastery in England". The first Norman bishop, Simeon , started building the cathedral in 1083. The octagon was rebuilt by sacrist Alan of Walsingham between 1322 and 1328 after
6804-485: Was improved in 1769 as a turnpike (toll road). The present-day A10 closely follows this route. Ely railway station , built in 1845, is on the Fen Line and is now a railway hub, with lines north to King's Lynn , northwest to Peterborough , east to Norwich , southeast to Ipswich and south to Cambridge and London. Henry II granted the first annual fair, Saint Etheldreda 's (or Saint Audrey's) seven-day event, to
6888-497: Was installed below the west tower in 1870. For over 800 years the cathedral and its associated buildings—built on an elevation 68 feet (21 m) above the nearby fens—have visually influenced the city and its surrounding area. Geographer John Jones, writing in 1924, reports that "from the roof of King's Chapel in Cambridge, on a clear day, Ely [cathedral] can be seen on the horizon, 16 miles (26 km) distant, an expression of
6972-522: Was later changed as Wilfrid 's chronicler used the Latin term for Paradise " Elysium ". Another option, discussed by Miller in Fenland Notes and Queries , is that the name is an old Celtic name deriving either from the Brythonic helig (modern Welsh helyg ) meaning willows or heli meaning salt water. Miller construes the name as meaning the singular and thinks it odd a place so abounding in
7056-408: Was worth 24,000 eels, Litelport 17,000 eels and even the small village of Liteltetford was worth 3,250 eels. Prior to the extensive and largely successful drainage of the fens during the seventeenth century, Ely was a trade centre for goods made out of willow, reeds and rushes and wild fowling was a major local activity. Peat in the form of "turf" was used as a fuel and in the form of "moor" as
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