10 Best Sights in East Anglia, England

Known affectionately as the Ship of the Fens, Ely Cathedral can be seen for miles, towering above the flat landscape on one of the few ridges in the fens. In 1083, the Normans began work on the cathedral, which stands on the site of a Benedictine monastery founded by the Anglo-Saxon princess Etheldreda in 673. In the center of the cathedral you see a marvel of medieval construction—the unique octagonal Lantern Tower, a sort of stained-glass skylight of colossal proportions, built to replace the central tower that collapsed in 1322. The cathedral's West Tower is even taller; the view from the top (if you can manage the 288 steps) is spectacular. Tours of both towers run daily. The cathedral is also notable for its 248-foot-long nave, with its simple Norman arches and Victorian painted ceiling. Much of the decorative carving of the 14th-century Lady Chapel was defaced during the Reformation (mostly by knocking off the heads of the statuary), but enough traces remain to show its original beauty.

The cathedral also houses the wonderful Stained Glass Museum. Exhibits trace the history of stained glass from medieval to modern times, including some stunning contemporary pieces. Ely Cathedral is a popular filming location; it doubled for Westminster Abbey in The King's Speech (2010) and The Crown (2015).

There are guided tours of the cathedral from Monday to Saturday (and Sunday in summer). Generally, they start at 11:30 and 2, with extra tours in the summer, but times vary so it's a good idea to call ahead.

Based on Sainte-Chapelle, the 13th-century royal chapel in Paris, this house of worship is perhaps the most glorious flowering of Perpendicular Gothic in Britain. Henry VI, the king after whom the college is named, oversaw the work. From the outside, the most prominent features are the massive flying buttresses and the fingerlike spires that line the length of the building. Inside, the most obvious impression is of great space—the chapel was once described as "the noblest barn in Europe"—and of light flooding in from its huge windows. The brilliantly colored bosses (carved panels at the intersections of the roof ribs) are particularly intense, although hard to see without binoculars. An exhibition in the chantries, or side chapels, explains more about the chapel's construction. Behind the altar is The Adoration of the Magi, an enormous painting by Peter Paul Rubens.

The chapel, unlike the rest of King's College, stays open during exam periods. Every Christmas Eve, a festival of carols is sung by the chapel's famous choir. It's broadcast on national television and considered a quintessential part of the traditional English Christmas.

Lincoln's crowning glory (properly known as the Cathedral of St. Mary, although nobody calls it that), this was, for centuries, the tallest building in Europe. The Norman Bishop Remigius began work in 1072. The Romanesque church he built was irremediably damaged, first by fire, then by earthquake. Today, its most striking feature is the west front's strikingly tall towers, best viewed from the 14th-century Exchequer Gate in front of the cathedral or from the castle battlements beyond. Inside, a breathtaking impression of space and unity belies the many centuries of building and rebuilding. The stained-glass window at the north end of the transept (known as the Dean's Eye) dates from the 13th century. Look for the Lincoln Imp on the pillar nearest St. Hugh's shrine; according to legend, an angel turned this creature into stone.

Through a door on the north side is the chapterhouse, a 10-sided building with one of the oldest vaulted ceilings in the world. It sometimes housed the medieval Parliament of England during the reigns of Edward I and Edward II. The cathedral library, designed by Christopher Wren (1632–1723), was built onto the north side of the cloisters after the original library collapsed. Guided tours of the ground floor are included in the price. You can also book tours of the roof and tower (£7.50); these can be booked in advance with the visitor services team. For safety reasons, children under 14 are not allowed on those tours.

The grandest example of Norman architecture in Norwich has a towering 315-foot spire and the second-largest monastic cloisters in Britain (only Salisbury's are bigger). The cathedral was begun in 1096 by Herbert de Losinga, who had come from Normandy in 1091 to be its first bishop; his splendid tomb is by the high altar. The remarkable length of the nave is immediately impressive; the similarly striking height of the vaulted ceiling makes it a strain to study the delightful colored bosses, which illustrate Bible stories with great vigor and detail (binoculars are handy). The grave of Norfolk-born nurse Edith Cavell, a British World War I heroine shot by the Germans in 1915, is at the eastern end. There's also a medieval-style herb garden, a Japanese garden, a restaurant, and a coffee shop. Guided tours are run Monday to Saturday at 10, 11, noon, 1, 2, and 3. The Cathedral Close is one of the most idyllic places in Norwich. Keep an eye out for peregrine falcons; they nest in the spire. Past the mixture of medieval and Georgian houses, a path leads down to the ancient water gate, Pulls Ferry.

One of the most remarkable churches in the region, St. Mary-the-Virgin was started just before the Reformation. The doors underneath the ruined archways outside (remnants of a much older church) contain a series of mysterious symbols—actually a coded message left by Catholic sympathizers of the time. The striking interior contains a mini-museum of treasures, including an ancient wall painting of the Virgin Mary in one of the rear chapels, a 14th-century chest, and an extraordinary series of florid memorial stones on the nave wall opposite the main entrance. A unique feature of the church is that its bells are rung from a cage in the graveyard; this was erected as a temporary measure, pending the construction of a tower in 1531 that was never completed.

Set apart from the village on a hill, this grand 15th-century church was built between 1480 and 1520 by cloth merchant Thomas Spring. The height of its tower (141 feet) was meant to surpass those of the neighboring churches—and perhaps to impress rival towns. The rest of the church is perfectly proportioned, with intricately carved wood.

Known as the "university church," Great St. Mary's has its origins in the 11th century, although the current building dates from 1478. The main reason to visit is to climb the 113-foot tower, which has a superb view over the colleges and marketplace (though it may be closed in bad weather). Also here is the Michaelhouse Centre, a small café, gallery, and performing arts venue with frequent free lunchtime concerts. Tours must be booked in advance.

This largely 15th-century church, founded by the rich clothiers of Long Melford, stands on a hill at the north end of the village. Close up, the delicate flint flush-work (shaped flints set into a pattern) and huge Perpendicular Gothic windows that take up most of the church's walls have great impact, especially because the nave is 150 feet long. The Clopton Chapel, with an ornate (and incredibly rare) painted medieval ceiling, predates the rest of the church by 150 years. The beautiful Lady Chapel has an unusual cloister; the stone on the wall in the corner is an ancient multiplication table, used when the chapel served as a school in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Tours can be arranged in advance; email [email protected] for more details and to make reservations.

Although the main body of this cathedral dates from the 15th century, its brilliant ceiling and gleaming stained-glass windows are the result of 19th-century restoration by architect Sir Gilbert Scott. Be sure to look near the altar to see the memorial to an event in 1214 when the barons of England took an oath here to force King John to grant the Magna Carta. There was a war, he lost, and the rest, as they say, is history. The cathedral's original Abbey Gate was destroyed in a riot, and it was rebuilt in the 14th century with defense in mind—you can see the arrow slits. From Easter to September, guided tours are available Monday to Saturday at 11:30. There's also a small but popular café. A separate tower tour lasts 85 minutes and takes visitors up 202 steps, rewarding with epic views of the town's skyline.

Built in the 15th century, St. Mary's has a blue-and-gold embossed "wagon" (barrel-shape) roof over the choir. Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's sister and queen of France, is buried here.