Ely and the Cambridgeshire countryside viewed from the roof of Ely Cathedral. © Randy Runtsch.

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The View From the Top

November Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Building”

Shiny New Day
Six Word Photo Story Challenge
2 min readNov 4, 2024

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Imagine building a magnificent medieval cathedral.

In the historical novel Pillars of the Earth, published in 1989, British author Ken Follett tells the story of the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. The book, set in the 12th century, covers the development of Gothic architecture. It’s a fascinating story.

Early in the 1980s, I enjoyed living in England, home to historic medieval cathedrals, churches, castles, houses, and other buildings. Most weekends, friends and I would travel about the country, admiring the countryside, cities, and towns and experiencing the wonders of historic sites.

One weekend, I visited Ely Cathedral in Ely, Cambridgeshire. A tall and massive structure from the Middle Ages, it is a Romanesque, English Gothic church that its builders designed to impress people as they worshiped their God.

Built between 1100 and 1375, the church is 537 feet long and has a 217-foot-tall west tower. Its architects and builders overcame many problems to ensure it would remain standing for centuries.

It is challenging to imagine how cathedrals like Ely were built without modern machinery. Over 275 years, many generations…

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Six Word Photo Story Challenge
Six Word Photo Story Challenge

Published in Six Word Photo Story Challenge

Monthly six word story writing challenges inspired by photos taken by yourself

Shiny New Day
Shiny New Day

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