§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.
Ely’s long-standing city status—rooted in its Anglo-Saxon monastery and later cathedral—was formally confirmed to the civil parish by letters patent on 1 April 1974. From a medieval isle in the fens and a centre of ecclesiastical authority, Ely developed as a small market and service city. Today it sits within East Cambridgeshire District (two-tier arrangements with Cambridgeshire County Council) and is part of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, which introduced a directly elected metro mayor in 2017 to steer regional transport, skills and housing programmes.
City Council Status
City of Ely Council (parish-level) holds the city's civic status (confirmed 1 April 1974). Principal services are provided by East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council.
In the UK, a handful of cities are organised at the civil parish tier—the lowest level of local government in England. There are eight such cases: Chichester, Ely, Hereford, Lichfield, Ripon, Salisbury, Truro, and Wells. In these places the city status is vested in the parish area and the parish council styles itself a City Council.
In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.
