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ELY sits on a dark dome of land capped by a giant cathedral. With its numerous towers and turrets, it’s easy to see why it is often called “the ship of the fens.” Originally Ely was an easily defended island in a vast area of lakes, meres, and marshes. Today it is a small market town with a fascinating history, and which presides over a rich agricultural region.
Drive only 20 miles south of London’s Gatwick Airport and you enter the SOUTH DOWNS, a land where narrow lanes, lined by wildflowers, wind by thatched cottages. Your view across a field may reveal a tiny village clustered around a church spire, or sheep gazing by a stone barn.
Robert Dudley and AMY ROBSART were married on 5th June 1550. On 8th September 1560, Amy was found dead at the foot of a staircase. Officially, it was ruled an accident, but many believed her husband, the Earl of Leicester1 arranged Amy’s death so that he would be free to marry his new paramour, Queen Elizabeth I.