Ely, town (1991 pop. 9,006), Cambridgeshire, E central England. It is a market town for the surrounding rich farming area and has food-processing industries. Tourism is also important. Secluded in the Fens, it was the site of the last serious resistance to William I in 1071. Ely Cathedral, one of the largest in England, is on the site of an abbey founded by St. Ætheldreda in 673 and destroyed by Danes in 870.




