The Guild was founded on 17 February 1988 by the late Rev. Alun Lloyd Davies. Meetings were held at the gift shop and tearoom at Steeplegate, High Street, Ely, owned by another founder member, John Ambrose, a man well known in the woodturning world. John became president, Alun the chairman, Ken Howard the treasurer and Adrian Flude the secretary.

An image of the original meeting place is still used on our logo.

The meeting place moved to The Village Hall in Little Thetford in 1990 when membership became too large to be accommodated at Steeplegate.

Our past & present members include national and international medal winners, authors and a previous editor of Woodturning magazine.

In January 2008, we became an Associate Member of the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain (AWGB) which enables us to offer many benefits to our members.

One of the highlights in the EGW year is our Art in Wood event which takes place in August opposite the magnificent Ely Cathedral. Our members are able to showcase and sell their work here.

The Ely Guild of Woodturners has grown considerably over the years and membership is around 70.