Byrhtnoth
Reburials
Reburials
---------

After his burial, his remains, along with those of six other Saxon 'benefactors of Ely Church' (also known as the seven 'Confessors of Christ') have been moved and reburied three times. Archbishop Wulfstan with six bishops ([Osmund of Sweden](/wiki/Osmund_%28missionary_bishop%29 "Osmund (missionary bishop)"), [Athelstan of Elmham](/wiki/Athelstan_%28bishop%29 "Athelstan (bishop)"), [Ælfwine of Elmham](/wiki/%C3%86lfwine_of_Elmham "Ælfwine of Elmham"), [Ælfgar of Elmham](/wiki/%C3%86lfgar_of_Elmham "Ælfgar of Elmham"), [Eadnoth of Dorchester](/wiki/Eadnoth_II "Eadnoth II")) and Byrhtnoth were all exhumed from their burial places in the old Saxon abbey church, and in the mid\-1150s the remains were reinterred in the 'Northern Part' of the new Norman church, which by then had been made Ely Cathedral.

Following the collapse of the central tower in 1322, a new octagonal space was created, and a wall was built on its north side to separate the monastic area of the choir from the pilgrim entrance and route to the shrine of [Æthelthryth](/wiki/%C3%86thelthryth "Æthelthryth") (St Etheldreda). Within this wall the seven benefactors were buried, with wall paintings of each in an elaborate arcade facing the pilgrim entrance, perhaps to remind visitors of the enduring respect that can accrue from such generosity.

The shrines were destroyed and pilgrimages ceased at the Reformation, but in 1769, when the choir stalls were moved out of the Octagon, the wall was demolished and [James Bentham](/wiki/James_Bentham "James Bentham") found that the remains of the seven benefactors were still there, each in a separate compartment, although Byrhtnoth's was headless. All the clerics were estimated to be over  tall, and Byrhtnoth's bones suggested that he stood at . On 31 July 1781 they were again re\-interred, with considerable ceremony, at the far east end of the cathedral, in niches constructed within the gothic splendour of [Bishop Nicholas West](/wiki/Nicholas_West "Nicholas West")'s Chantry chapel.


Where were the remains of the seven benefactors reinterred in 1781?