Ely Cathedral, from the Grammar School 1857

Roger Fenton captured Ely Cathedral, using photography, an emerging medium, to document a British landmark. The cathedral looms large, its tower a symbol of both spiritual and temporal power. Towers, reaching skyward, aren’t unique to Ely. Think of the Tower of Babel, a primal story of human ambition, or the minarets dotting the landscapes of Islamic cultures. These structures, regardless of their religious context, serve as a visual link between the earthly and the divine. They are expressions of humanity’s yearning to connect with something greater. Even today, in our secular age, skyscrapers evoke a similar feeling. They are modern cathedrals of commerce, symbols of aspiration and collective effort, rooted in our subconscious desire for the sublime. Fenton’s photograph captures this ongoing cyclical progression of symbols, of seeking the divine.