Construction of the Lady Chapel at Ely Cathedral, a magnificent example of English Gothic architecture, began in 1321. The chapel was built to honor the Virgin Mary and served as a major pilgrimage site. Its elaborate sculpture and stained glass made it one of the most celebrated religious spaces in medieval England.

The Lady Chapel of Ely, with its devotional and Marian focus, influenced religious poetry and hymns composed for the cult of the Virgin. It appears in the writings of local monastic poets and in the broader tradition of Marian devotion that characterized Middle English lyric poetry. The chapel's completion was often celebrated in Latin and vernacular verses, contributing to the rich corpus of ecclesiastical building poetry.