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Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire,
east of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...
. It is the largest part of the
City of Peterborough The City of Peterborough is a unitary authority district with city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The area is named after its largest settlement, Peterborough but also covers a wider area of outlying villages and ha ...
unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until 1974, when county boundary change meant the city became part of Cambridgeshire instead. The city is north of London, on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea to the north-east. In 2020 the built-up area subdivision had an estimated population of 179,349. In 2021 the Unitary Authority area had a population of 215,671. The local topography is flat, and in some places, the land lies below sea level, for example in parts of the Fens to the east and to the south of Peterborough. Human settlement in the area began before the Bronze Age, as can be seen at the
Flag Fen Flag Fen, east of Peterborough, Pryor 2005. p. 9. England, is a Bronze Age site which was constructed about 3500 years ago and consists of more than 60,000 timbers arranged in five very long rows, creating a wooden causeway (around 1 km lo ...
archaeological site to the east of the current city centre, also with evidence of Roman occupation. The
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
period saw the establishment of a monastery,
Medeshamstede Medeshamstede was the name of Peterborough in the Anglo-Saxon period. It was the site of a monastery founded around the middle of the 7th century, which was an important feature in the kingdom of Mercia from the outset. Little is known of its ...
, which later became Peterborough Cathedral. The population grew rapidly after the railways arrived in the 19th century, and Peterborough became an industrial centre, particularly known for its brick manufacture. After the Second World War, growth was limited until designation as a
New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in the 1960s. Housing and population are expanding and a £1-billion regeneration of the city centre and immediately surrounding area is under way. Industrial employment has fallen since then, a significant proportion of new jobs being in financial services and distribution.


Toponym

The original name of the town was
Medeshamstede Medeshamstede was the name of Peterborough in the Anglo-Saxon period. It was the site of a monastery founded around the middle of the 7th century, which was an important feature in the kingdom of Mercia from the outset. Little is known of its ...
. The town's name changed to ''Burgh'' from the late tenth century, possibly after Abbot Kenulf had built a
defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
around the abbey which was dedicated to Saint Peter; eventually this developed into the form Peterborough. In the 12th century, the town was also known as ''Gildenburgh'', which is found in the Peterborough version of the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...
'' (see Peterborough Chronicle below) and a history of the abbey by the monk Hugh Candidus. The town does not appear to have been a borough until at least the 12th century.


History


Early history

Peterborough and its surrounding areas around have been inhabited for thousands of years because it is where permanently drained land in The Fens is created by the River Nene. Remains of Iron Age settlement and what is thought to be religious activity can be seen at the
Flag Fen Flag Fen, east of Peterborough, Pryor 2005. p. 9. England, is a Bronze Age site which was constructed about 3500 years ago and consists of more than 60,000 timbers arranged in five very long rows, creating a wooden causeway (around 1 km lo ...
archaeological site to the east of the city centre. The Romans established a fortified garrison town at Durobrivae on Ermine Street, five miles (8 km) to the west in Water Newton, around the middle of the 1st century AD. Durobrivae's earliest appearance among surviving records is in the
Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti,  "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...
of the late 2nd century. There was also a large 1st century
Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
at
Longthorpe Longthorpe is an area of the city of Peterborough, in the unparished area of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Located west from the city centre, the area covers . For electoral purp ...
, designed to house half a legion, or about 3,000 soldiers; it may have been established as early as around AD 44–48. Peterborough was an important area of ceramic production in the Roman period, providing Nene Valley Ware that was traded as far away as Cornwall and the
Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...
, Caledonia. Peterborough is shown by its original name Medeshamstede to have possibly been an Anglian settlement before AD 655, when Sexwulf founded a monastery on land granted to him for that purpose by Peada of Mercia, who converted to Christianity and was briefly ruler of the smaller Middle Angles sub-group. His brother Wulfhere murdered his own sons, similarly converted and then finished the monastery by way of atonement. Hereward the Wake rampaged through the town in 1069 or 1070. Outraged, Abbot Turold erected a fort or castle, which, from his name, was called Mont Turold: this mound, or hill, is on the outside of the deanery garden, now called Tout Hill, although in 1848 Tot-hill or Toot Hill. Scheduled Ancient Monument The abbey church was rebuilt and greatly enlarged in the 12th century.Tim Tatton-Brown and John Crook, ''The English Cathedral'', New Holland (2002) The Peterborough Chronicle, a version of the Anglo-Saxon one, contains unique information about the
history of England England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated.; "Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk" (2014). BBC News. Retrieved 7 February ...
after the Norman conquest, written here by monks in the 12th century. This is the only known prose history in English between the conquest and the later 14th century. The burgesses received their first charter from "Abbot Robert" – probably Robert of Sutton (1262–1273). Chisholm, Hugh (ed.) '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' (11th ed.) vol.21 Cambridge University Press, 1911 (text in the public domain). The place suffered materially in the war between
King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...
and the confederate barons, many of whom took refuge in the monastery here and in Crowland Abbey, from which sanctuaries they were forced by the king's soldiers, who plundered the religious houses and carried off great treasures. The abbey church became one of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
's retained, more secular, cathedrals in 1541, having been assessed at the Dissolution (in the King's Books) as having revenue of £1,972.7s.0¾d per annum. When civil war broke out, Peterborough was divided between supporters of King Charles I and the Long Parliament. The city lay on the border of the Eastern Association of counties which sided with Parliament, and the war reached Peterborough in 1643 when soldiers arrived in the city to attack Royalist strongholds at Stamford and
Crowland Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. la, Croilandia) is a town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland c ...
. The Royalist forces were defeated within a few weeks and retreated to
Burghley House Burghley House () is a grand sixteenth-century English country house near Stamford, Lincolnshire. It is a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, built and still lived in by the Cecil family. The exterior largely retains its Elizabet ...
, where they were captured and sent to Cambridge. While the Parliamentary soldiers were in Peterborough, however, they ransacked the cathedral, destroying the Lady Chapel,
chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
, cloister, high altar and choir stalls, as well as mediaeval decoration and records. Housing and sanitary improvements were effected under the provisions of an Act of Parliament passed in 1790; and an Act was passed in 1839 to build a gaol to replace the two that previously stood. After the dissolution the dean and chapter, who succeeded the abbot as
lords of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...
, appointed a high
bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
and the constables and other borough officers were elected at their
court leet The court leet was a historical court baron (a type of manorial court) of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts. Etym ...
; but this ended when the municipal borough was incorporated in 1874 under the government of a mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors. Among the privileges claimed by the abbot as early as the 13th century was that of having a prison for felons taken in the Soke of Peterborough. In 1576 Bishop
Edmund Scambler Edmund Scambler (c. 1520 – 7 May 1594) was an English bishop. Life He was born at Gressingham, and was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, Queens' College, Cambridge and Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1542. Under Mary I of Engl ...
sold the lordship of the hundred of ''Nassaburgh'', which was coextensive with the Soke, to Queen Elizabeth I, who gave it to Lord Burghley, and from that time until the 19th century he and his descendants, the Earls and Marquesses of Exeter, had a separate gaol for prisoners arrested in the Soke. The abbot formerly held four fairs, of which two, St. Peter's Fair, granted in 1189 and later held on the second Tuesday and Wednesday in July, and the Brigge Fair, granted in 1439 and later held on the first Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in October, were purchased by the corporation from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1876. The Bridge Fair, as it is now known, granted to the abbey by
King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne a ...
, survives. Prayers for the opening of the fair were once said at the morning service in the cathedral, followed by a civic proclamation and a sausage lunch at the
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
which still takes place. The mayor traditionally leads a procession from the town hall to the fair where the proclamation is read, asking all persons to "behave soberly and civilly, and to pay their just dues and demands according to the laws of the realm and the rights of the City of Peterborough".


Modern history

Railway lines began operating locally during the 1840s, but it was the 1850 opening of the Great Northern Railway's line from London to York that transformed Peterborough from a market town to an industrial centre. Lord Exeter had opposed the railway passing through Stamford, so Peterborough, situated between two main terminals at London and Doncaster, increasingly developed as a regional hub. Coupled with vast local clay deposits, the railway enabled large-scale brick-making and distribution to take place. The area was the UK's leading producer of bricks for much of the twentieth century. Brick-making had been a small seasonal craft since the early nineteenth century, but during the 1890s successful experiments at Fletton using the harder clays from a lower level had resulted in a much more efficient process. The market dominance during this period of the London Brick Company, founded by the prolific Scottish builder and architect
John Cathles Hill John Cathles Hill (1857 – 5 April 1915) was an architect and property developer who was influential in the development of parts of suburban north London. Early life John C. HillPress coverage of Hill during his lifetime almost never referre ...
, gave rise to some of the country's most well-known landmarks, all built using the ubiquitous Fletton Brick.
Perkins Engines Perkins Engines Company Limited, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc since 1998, is primarily a diesel engine manufacturer for several markets including agricultural, construction, material handling, power generation, and industrial. It was establis ...
was established in Peterborough in 1932 by Frank Perkins, creator of the Perkins diesel engine. Thirty years later it employed more than a tenth of the population of Peterborough, mainly at Eastfield.
Baker Perkins Baker Perkins Ltd is a British engineering company for food processing equipment headquartered in Peterborough, England. Its product portfolio offers different technologies and applications for the bread, biscuit, confectionery, snack, and break ...
had relocated from London to Westwood, now the site of
HM Prison Peterborough HM Prison Peterborough is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B private prison for men, and a closed prison for women and female young offenders, located in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The prison is operated b ...
, in 1903, followed by Peter Brotherhood to Walton in 1906; both manufacturers of industrial machinery, they too became major employers in the city. British Sugar has moved its headquarters to Hampton from Woodston, the beet sugar factory, which opened there in 1926, was closed in 1991. The Norwich and Peterborough (N&P) was formed by the merger of the Norwich Building Society and the Peterborough Building Society in 1986. It was the ninth largest building society at the time of its merger into the Yorkshire Group in 2011. N&P continued to operate under its own brand administered at Lynch Wood until 2018. Prior to merger with the Midlands Co-op in 2013,
Anglia Regional Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Limited was the fifth largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the merger of the Greater Peterborough Regional and Anglia (formerly Waveney) co-operative societies in 1987. The S ...
, the UK's fifth largest co-operative society, was also based in Peterborough, where it was established in 1876. The combined society began trading as
Central England Co-operative Central England Co-operative, trading as Central Co-op, is a regional consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom, based in Lichfield and which trades from over 400 sites across the English Midlands and East Anglia. The business is owned and de ...
in 2014. Designated a
New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in 1967,
Peterborough Development Corporation The Peterborough Development Corporation was established in February 1968, as a national government initiative, following the city's designation as a third-wave New Town in July 1967. It was based in the Gilbert Scott designed Peterscourt in t ...
was formed in partnership with the city and county councils to house London's
overspill In nonstandard analysis, a branch of mathematics, overspill (referred to as ''overflow'' by Goldblatt (1998, p. 129)) is a widely used proof technique. It is based on the fact that the set of standard natural numbers N is not an internal su ...
population in new townships sited around the existing urban area. There were to be four townships, one each at Bretton (originally to be called Milton, a hamlet in the Middle Ages), Orton, Paston/ Werrington and Castor. The last of these was never built, but a fourth, called Hampton, is now taking shape south of the city. It was decided that the city should have a major indoor shopping centre at its heart. Planning permission was received in late summer 1976 and
Queensgate Queensgate, Queen's Gate and variants may refer to: Locations and structures ;Canada *Queensgate, a suburb of Caledon, Ontario *Queen's Gates, ornate entrance to the Canadian parliament ;Gibraltar * Queen's Gate, Gibraltar, an ancient city gate ...
, containing over 90 stores and including parking for 2,300 cars, was opened by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1982. 34 miles (55 km) of urban roads were planned and a network of high-speed landscaped thoroughfares, known as
parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...
s, was constructed. Peterborough's population grew by 45.4% between 1971 and 1991. New service-sector companies like Thomas Cook and
Pearl Assurance Phoenix Group Holdings plc (formerly Pearl Group plc) is a provider of insurance services based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was founded in 1857 a ...
were attracted to the city, ending the dominance of the manufacturing industry as employers. An urban regeneration company named Opportunity Peterborough, under the chairmanship of Lord Mawhinney, was set up by the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duti ...
in 2005 to oversee Peterborough's future development. Between 2006 and 2012 a £1 billion redevelopment of the city centre and surrounding areas was planned. The master plan provided guidelines on the physical shaping of the city centre over the next 15–20 years. Proposals are still progressing for the north of Westgate, the south bank and the station quarter, where Network Rail is preparing a major mixed use development.The Plan for Peterborough City Centre
Peterborough City Council, East of England Development Agency and English Partnerships, February 2005.
Whilst recognising that the reconfiguration of the relationship between the city and station was critical, English Heritage found the current plans for Westgate unconvincing and felt more thought should be given to the vitality of the historic core. With the city expanding, in July 2005 the council adopted a new statutory development plan. Its aim is to accommodate an additional 22,000 homes, 18,000 jobs and over 40,000 people living in Peterborough by 2020. The newly developing Hampton township will be completed, there will be a 1,500-home development at
Stanground Stanground is a residential area in the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it comprises Stanground South and Fletton & Stanground wards in North West ...
and a further 1,200-home development at Paston. In recent years Peterborough has undergone significant changes with numerous developments underway, most notably are Fletton Quays, a project to construct 350 apartments, various office spaces as well as a new home for
Peterborough City Council Peterborough City Council is the local authority for Peterborough in the East of England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The City was incorporated as a municipal borough ...
with other projects within the development to include a
Hilton Garden Inn Hilton Garden Inn is an American chain of mid-priced, limited or focused service hotels owned by Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2019, it has 862 properties with 126,086 rooms in 49 countries and territories, including 81 that are manage ...
hotel with a sky bar, a new passport office and various leisure, restaurant and retail opportunities. Other projects within the city include the extension to Queensgate Shopping Centre, The Great Northern Hotel and more recently plans to extend the Peterborough Railway Station and long stay car park to facilitate more office space in the city centre and further parking. In 2020 planning permission was granted for a new university, ARU Peterborough, which will be based on Bishops Road, a five-minute walk from the City Centre. It will be an employment focused university run by Anglia Ruskin University with four faculties: Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Creative and Digital Arts and Sciences; Agriculture, Environment and Sustainability; Health and Education. The new university is expected to take its first cohort of approximately 2,000 students by 2022, rising to 12,500 by 2028. ARU Peterborough is not expected to receive its degree awarding powers before 2030 when a review will take place to determine its future as part of Anglia Ruskin University or whether it should become its own entity.


Economy


Regeneration

According to the City Council, Peterborough has a history of successful economic growth and continues to act as an attractor for investment and an engine of growth. Its ambition is to achieve sustainable growth that can be maintained without creating significant economic problems. Figures plotting growth from 1995 to 2004, revealed that Peterborough had become the most successful economy among unitary authorities in the East of England. They also revealed that the city's economy had grown faster than the regional average and any other economy in the region. It has a strong economy in the environmental goods and services sector and has the largest cluster of environmental businesses in the UK. In 1994, Peterborough designated itself one of four environment cities in the UK and began working to become the country's acknowledged environment capital. Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT), an independent charity, was set up at the same time to work towards this goal, delivering projects promoting healthier and sustainable living in the city. Until 2017, PECT organised a yearly 'Green Festival' centered around Cathedral Square, Peterborough, which also benefited local artists and arts organisations through attracting Arts Council funding grants aided by arts facilitator organisation Metal. During the summer of 2018 the last Green Festival was held at Nene Park, in 2019 Peterborough's community environmental projects attracted ministerial attention from the environment secretary
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...
. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-21 Peterborough's culture and leisure umbrella charity, ''Vivacity'' ceased operating. This led to a restructuring of many of the arts organisations; they are now found under the heading City Culture Peterborough. The council and regional development agency have taken advice on regeneration issues from a number of internationally recognised experts, including Benjamin Barber (formerly an adviser to President Bill Clinton), Jan Gustav Strandenaes ( United Nations adviser on environmental issues) and Patama Roorakwit (a Thai "community architect").


Employment

According to the 2001 census, the workplace population of 90,656 is divided into 60,118 people who live in Peterborough and 30,358 people who commute in. A further 13,161 residents commute out of the city to work. Earnings in Peterborough are lower than average.
Median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
earnings for full-time workers were £11.93 per hour in 2014, less than the regional median for the East of England of £13.62 and the median hourly rate of £13.15 for Great Britain as a whole. As part of the government's
M11 corridor The M11 is a motorway that runs north from the A406 road, North Circular Road (A406) in South Woodford to the A14 road (Great Britain), A14, northwest of Cambridge, England. Originally proposed as a trunk road as early as 1915, various plans ...
, Peterborough is committed to creating 17,500 jobs with the population growing to 200,000 by 2020. Future employment will also be created through the plan for the city centre launched by the council in 2003. Predictions of the levels and types of employment created were published in 2005. These include 1,421 jobs created in retail; 1,067 created in a variety of leisure and cultural developments; 338 in three hotels; and a further 4,847 jobs created in offices and other workspaces. Recent relocations of large employers include both Tesco (1,070 employees) and Debenhams (850 employees) distribution centres. A further 2,500 jobs were to be created in the £140 million Gateway warehouse and distribution park. This was expected to compensate for the 6,000 job losses as a result of the decline in manufacturing, anticipated in a report cited by the cabinet member for economic growth and regeneration in 2006. With traditionally low levels of unemployment, Peterborough is a popular destination for workers and has seen significant growth through migration since the post-war period. The leader of the council said in August 2006 that he believed that 80% of the 65,000 people who had arrived in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
from the states that joined the European Union in 2004 were living in Peterborough. To help cope with this influx, the council put forward plans to construct an average of 1,300 homes each year until 2021. Demand for short term employees remains high and the market supports up to 20 high street recruitment agencies at any given time. Peterborough Trades Council, formed in 1898, is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress.


Transport


Rail

Peterborough railway station is a principal stop on the
East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
, 45–50 minutes' journey time from central London, with high-speed intercity services from King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley operated by the
London North Eastern Railway London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a British train operating company. It is owned by the DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT). The company's name echoes that of the London and North Eastern Railway, one of the Big Four ...
at around a 20-minute frequency. It is the northern terminus of slower commuter services from Horsham via Gatwick Airport and central London operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. It is a major railway junction where a number of cross-country routes converge: •
East Midlands Railway Abellio East Midlands Limited, trading as East Midlands Railway (EMR), is a train operating company in England, owned by Abellio, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. History In March 2017, the Department for Transport a ...
operates through services between Norwich, Nottingham and Liverpool Lime Street that call at Peterborough, as well as trains on the line to Lincoln. •
CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
provides connections west to
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
and Birmingham, and east to
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...
, Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Transport UK East Anglia Limited) is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city ser ...
also runs trains to and from Ipswich via Soham.


Water

The River Nene, made navigable from the port at Wisbech to
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
by 1761, passes through the city centre. The
Nene Viaduct The Nene Viaduct is a railway bridge immediately south of Peterborough railway station in Cambridgeshire, Eastern England. It was built to carry the Great Northern Railway across the River Nene. It is a Grade II* listed building. History and de ...
carries the railway over the river. It was built in 1847 by Sir William and Joseph Cubitt. William Cubitt was the chief engineer of Crystal Palace erected at Hyde Park in 1851. Apart from some minor repairs in 1910 and 1914 (the steel bands and cross braces around the fluted legs) the bridge remains as Cubitts built it. Now a Grade II* listed structure, it is the oldest surviving cast iron railway bridge in the UK. By the Town Bridge, the Customs House, built in the early eighteenth century, is a visible reminder of the city's past function as an inland port. The
Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
navigation starts at the junction with the Northampton arm of the Grand Union Canal and extends for 91 miles (147 km) ending at Bevis Hall just upstream of Wisbech. The tidal limit used to be Woodston Wharf until the Dog-in-a-Doublet lock was built five miles (8 km) downstream in 1937.


Road

The A1/A1(M) primary route (part of European route E15) broadly follows the path of the historic Great North Road from
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
in the heart of London, passing Peterborough (Junction 17), and continuing north a further 335 miles (539 km) to central Edinburgh. In 1899 the British Electric Traction Company sought permission for a tramway joining the northern suburbs with the city centre. The system, which operated under the name
Peterborough Electric Traction Company Peterborough Tramways served the city of Peterborough from 24 January 1903 until 15 November 1930. Infrastructure From its southmost limit, the Market Place (grid reference ), the network had three routes: * along Westgate and Lincoln Road to a ...
, opened in 1903 and was abandoned in favour of motor buses in 1930, when it was merged into the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company. Today, bus services in the city are operated by several companies including
Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
(formerly Cambus and Viscount) and . Despite its large-scale growth, Peterborough has the fastest peak and off-peak travel times for a city of its size in the UK, due to the construction of the parkways. The Local Transport Plan anticipated expenditure totalling around £180 million for the period up to 2010 on major road schemes to accommodate development. The combination of rail connections to the Port of Felixstowe and to the East Coast Main Line as well as a road connection via the A1(M) has led to Peterborough being proposed as the site of a rail-road logistics and distribution centre to be known as ''Magna Park''.


Green Wheel and City Cycling

The Peterborough Millennium
Green Wheel Peterborough Green Wheel The Peterborough Millennium Green Wheel is an network of cycleways, footpaths and bridleways. Designed as part of a sustainable transport system for the city, it was created as part of a Millennium project around Peter ...
is a 50-mile (80 km) network of cycleways, footpaths and bridleways which provide safe, continuous routes around the city with radiating spokes connecting to the city centre. The project has also created a sculpture trail, which provides functional, landscape artworks along the Green Wheel route and a Living Landmarks project involving the local community in the creation of local landscape features such as mini woodlands, ponds and hedgerows. Another long-distance footpath, the
Hereward Way The Hereward Way is a long-distance footpath in England that links the Viking Way at Oakham with the Peddars Way at Knettishall Heath, near Thetford. The path takes its name from Hereward the Wake, the 11th-century rebel leader who fought again ...
, runs from Oakham in Rutland, through Peterborough, to
East Harling East Harling is a village in the England, English county of Norfolk. The village forms the principal settlement in the civil parish of Harling, Norfolk, Harling, and is located east of Thetford and south-west of the city of NorwichOrdnance Surv ...
in Norfolk. While cycling within the city received a boost during the COVID-19 pandemic with the introduction of new cycle lanes in busy streets, plans to connect the villages to the west of Peterborough with a new cycle track have been refused permission and some cycle lane decisions have been reversed in the city centre during easing of the corona virus lockdowns.


Demography


Population

The City of Peterborough local authority area has a population of (). It is forecast to reach 230,000 in 2031 and 240,000 by around 2041. Peterborough's population growth was reportedly the second fastest of any British city over the ten years from 2004 to 2013, driven partly by immigration.


Ethnicity

According to the 2011 Census, 82.5% of Peterborough's residents categorised themselves as white, 2.8% of mixed ethnic groups, 11.7%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 2.3 per cent black and 0.8% other. Amongst the white population, the largest categories were indigenous groups, those being English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British (70.9%), and other white (10.6%). Those of Pakistani ethnicity accounted for 6.6% of the population and those of
Indian ethnicity Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
2.5.%. The largest black group were those of African ethnicity (1.4%). Peterborough is home to one of the largest concentrations of
Italian immigrants The Italian diaspora is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended in the ...
in the UK. This is mainly as a result of
labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
recruitment in the 1950s by the London Brick Company in the southern Italian regions of
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
and Campania. By 1960, approximately 3,000 Italian men were employed by London Brick, mostly at the Fletton works. In 1962, the
Scalabrini Fathers The Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo ( la, Congregatio Missionariorum a S. Carolo), commonly called the Scalabrinian Missionaries, is a Roman Catholic religious institute of brothers and priests founded by Giovanni Batti ...
, who first arrived in 1956, purchased an old school and converted it into a mission church named after the patron saint of workers
Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...
(San Giuseppe). By 1991, over 3,000 christenings of second-generation Italians had been carried out there. In 1996, it was estimated that the Italian community of Peterborough numbered 7,000, making it the third largest in the UK after London and Bedford. The 2011 Census recorded 1,179 residents born in Italy. In the late twentieth century the main source of immigration was from new
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
countries. The 2011 Census showed that a total of 24,166 migrants moved to Peterborough between 2001 and 2011. The city has experienced significant immigration from the A8 countries that joined the European Union in 2004, and in 2011, 14,134 residents of the city were people born in Central and Eastern Europe. According to a report published by the police in 2007, recent migration had resulted in increased translation costs and a change in the nature of crime in the county, with an increase in drink-driving offences, knife crime and an international dimension added to activities such as running cannabis factories and
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
. The number of foreign nationals arrested in the north of the county rose from 894 in 2003, to 2,435 in 2006, but the report also said that "inappropriately negative" community perceptions about migrant workers often complicate routine incidents, raising tensions and turning them "critical". It also noted there was "little evidence that the increased numbers of migrant workers have caused significant or systematic problems in respect of community safety or cohesion". In 2007,
Julie Spence Julie Spence, is a retired British police officer and activist. She served as the Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire Constabulary from 10 December 2005 to 5 September 2010, and made headline news over demanding fairer funding due to the rise in ...
, the then Chief Constable emphasised that the fact that the demographic profile of Cambridgeshire had changed dramatically from one where 95% of teenagers were white four years previously to one of the country's fastest growing diverse populations, had had a positive impact on jobs and economic development. In 2008, the BBC broadcast ''The Poles are Coming!'', a controversial documentary on the impact of
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
migration to Peterborough by Tim Samuels, as part of its ''White Season''. The number of languages in use is growing where previously few languages other than English were spoken. , Peterborough offered classes in Italian, Urdu and
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
in its primary schools.


Religion

Christianity has the largest following in Peterborough, in particular the Church of England, with a significant number of parish churches and a cathedral. 56.7% of Peterborough's residents classified themselves as Christian in the 2011 Census. Recent immigration to the city has also seen the Roman Catholic population increase substantially. Other denominations are also in evidence; the latest church to be constructed is a £7 million "superchurch," KingsGate, formerly Peterborough Community Church, which can seat up to 1,800 worshippers. In comparison with the rest of England, Peterborough has a lower proportion of Christians,
Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, Hindus, Jews and
Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
. The city has a higher percentage of Muslims than England as a whole (9.4% compared to 5% nationally). The majority of Muslims reside in the
Millfield Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding schoo ...
, West Town and New England areas of the city, where two large mosques (including the Faidhan-e-Madina Mosque and Husaini Islamic Center-Peterborough) are based. Peterborough also has both Hindu (Bharat Hindu Samaj) and Sikh (Singh Sabha Gurdwara) temples in these areas. The Anglican Diocese of Peterborough covers roughly 1,200 square miles (3,100 km2), including the whole of Northamptonshire, Rutland and the Soke of Peterborough. The parts of the city that lie south of the river, which were historically in Huntingdonshire, fall within the
Diocese of Ely The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now co ...
, which covers the remainder of Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk. The current Bishop of Peterborough has been appointed
Assistant Bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...
in the Diocese of Ely, with pastoral care for these
parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
delegated to him by the
Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...
. The city falls wholly within the Roman Catholic
Diocese of East Anglia The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church covering the counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough in eastern England. The diocese makes up part of the Catholic As ...
(which has its seat at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Baptist, Norwich) and is served by
Saint Peter and All Souls Church The church of St Peter and All Souls is a Roman Catholic church in Peterborough, on Park Road, north of the city centre. It has been part of the Diocese of East Anglia since 1976, having fallen under the Diocese of Northampton from its building ...
, built in 1896 and decorated in the Gothic style. The Greek Orthodox Community of Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem was established in 1991 under the
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain.


Culture


Education

Peterborough has one independent boarding school:
The Peterborough School The Peterborough School, formerly Peterborough High School, is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school located in Peterborough, England. Founded as a day school for girls (with girl boarders until July 2013), it is now a coedu ...
at Westwood House, founded in 1895. The school caters for girls and now boys up to the age of 18. Peterborough's state schools have recently undergone immense change. Five of the city's 15 secondary schools were closed in July 2007, to be demolished over the coming years.
John Mansfield John Mansfield may refer to: *John Mansfield (Beverley MP), member for Beverley (UK Parliament constituency) in 1593 * John Mansfield (American politician) (1822–1896), American soldier and politician * John Mansfield (English politician) (1889 ...
(now an adult learning centre), Hereward (formerly Eastholm, now City of Peterborough Academy, sponsored by the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust) and Deacon's were replaced with the flagship
Thomas Deacon Academy The Thomas Deacon Academy is a mixed gender academy complex in the north of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, comprising the Thomas Deacon Academy Secondary School and sixth form and The Junior Academy for Key Stage 2 students. Thomas Deacon Acade ...
, designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank which opened in September 2007.
Queen Katharine Academy The Queen Katharine Academy (formerly The Voyager Academy and The Voyager School) is a secondary school with academy status in Peterborough in the United Kingdom. The school was formed in 2007 by the amalgamation of Walton Community School and ...
(previously The Voyager School), which has specialist media arts status, replaced Bretton Woods and Walton Community School. It is part of the Thomas Deacon Education Trust. The schools that remain have been extended and enlarged. Over £200 million was spent and the changes on-going to 2010. The King's School is one of seven schools established, or in some cases re-endowed and renamed, by King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
during the Dissolution of the Monasteries to pray for his soul. In 2006, 39.4% of Peterborough
local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...
pupils attained five grades A* to C, including English and Mathematics, in the General Certificate of Secondary Education, lower than the national average of 45.8%. The city has two colleges of further and higher education,
Peterborough College Peterborough College, established in 1946 as Peterborough Technical College, is a major further education college in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. History Engineering firms Peter Brotherhood and Baker Perkins relocated to Pete ...
(established in 1946 as Peterborough Technical College) and
City College Peterborough City College Peterborough is an adult and community learning college in the city of Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority ...
(known as Peterborough College of Adult Education until 2010). By 2004, Peterborough College attracted over 15,000 students each year from the UK and abroad and was ranked in the top five per cent of colleges in the UK. Greater Peterborough University Technical College is a new education facility set to open in September 2015. The city is currently without a university, after
Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...
closed its Peterborough campus in 2003. Consequently, it became the second largest centre of population in the UK (after
Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
) without its own higher education institution. In 2006, however, Peterborough Regional College began talks with Anglia Ruskin University to develop a new university campus for the city. The college and the university completed the legal contracts for the creation of a new joint venture company in 2007, marking the culmination of legal negotiations and securing of funds required in order to build the new higher education centre.
University Centre Peterborough University Centre Peterborough is a small higher education institution with campuses in Peterborough and Stamford, Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. It is formally part of the Inspire Education Group. Degrees at the Peterborough Campus are accr ...
opened to the first 850 students in 2009. The former public library on Broadway was funded by Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and opened in 1906; Carnegie was made first freeman of the city on the day of the opening ceremony.


Arts

Peterborough enjoys a wide range of events including the annual
East of England Show The East of England Agricultural Society is an agricultural society in the east of England. The Society which is a registered charity owns the land known as the East of England Showground in Peterborough, England. History The Society was formed ...
,
Peterborough Festival The Peterborough Festival is held annually in the UK city of Peterborough. The festival takes place over a two-week period, usually the last week of June and the first week of July. The first set of events of the festival take place at the emba ...
and CAMRA beer festival, which takes place on the river embankment in late August. The yearly festivals have attracted arts funding and enabled further community projects within the city. Nationally published cartoonist John Elson, from Peterborough, has provided imagery for many of the events. The city acts as the central hub for the regions visual arts community, with the Peterborough Artists Open Studio organisation
PAOS
, celebrating its 21st anniversary year as of 2021. A number of statues by the British sculptor
Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pla ...
were re-installed in the city in 2018. Removed for repair works from their original setting on concrete pillars next to the rowing lake in Nene Park, they can now be seen on top of buildings surrounding Cathedral Square in the town centre. The Key Theatre, built in 1973, is situated on the embankment, next to the River Nene. The theatre aims to provide entertainment, enlightenment and education by reflecting the rich culture Peterborough has to offer. The programme is made up of home-grown productions, national touring shows, local community productions and one-off concerts. There is disabled access, an infrared hearing system for the deaf and hard of hearing and there are also regular signed performances. In 1937, the Odeon Cinema opened on Broadway, where it operated successfully for more than half a century. In 1991, the Odeon showed its last film to the public and was left to fall into a state of disrepair, until 1997, when a local entrepreneur purchased the building as part of a larger project, including a restaurant and art gallery. The Broadway, designed by Tim Foster Architects, was one of the largest theatres in the region and offered a selection of live entertainment, including music, comedy and films. In 2009, it was severely damaged by arsonists, resulting in closure when its insurers refused to pay the claim due to faulty fire detection systems. The Embassy Theatre, a large Art Deco building designed by
David Evelyn Nye David Evelyn Nye MBE was a British architect, born in 1906, who practised in Surrey, England. He was best known as a cinema architect, having designed many picture houses in the 1930s for the Shipman and King cinema circuit. He was a committ ...
, also opened on Broadway in 1937. Nye was usually a cinema architect, and this was his only theatre. The Embassy was converted into a cinema in 1953, becoming the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
and later the Cannon Cinema, before it was closed in 1989. Since 1996, the premises have been occupied by the Edwards bar chain. The John Clare Theatre within the new central library, again on Broadway, is home to the Peterborough Film Society. One of the region's leading venues, the Cresset in Bretton, provides a wide range of events for the residents of the city and beyond, including theatre, comedy, music and dance. Peterborough has a 13-screen
Showcase Cinema Showcase Cinemas is a movie theater chain owned and operated by National Amusements. It operates in a total of four countries: the United States (flagship), Brazil, the United Kingdom and Argentina. Locations Showcase operates more than 950 ...
, an ice rink and two indoor swimming pools open to the general public. A diverse range of restaurants can be found throughout the city, including
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
& Cantonese, Indian & Nepalese,
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
and many Italian restaurants. Peterborough has recently been used as the setting in popular literature: '' A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian'' by Marina Lewycka, ''
A Spot of Bother ''A Spot of Bother'' is the second adult novel by Mark Haddon, who is best known for his prize-winning first novel ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time''. Like ''Curious Incident'', ''A Spot of Bother'' examines mental health iss ...
'' by
Mark Haddon Mark Haddon (born 28 October 1962) is an English novelist, best known for ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, Guardian Prize, and a Commonwealth Wr ...
and, the first in a projected series, ''Long Way Home'', a debut novel by Eva Doran.


Sport

Peterborough United Football Club Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standin ...
, known as ''The Posh'', has been the local football team since 1934. The ground is situated at London Road on the south bank of the River Nene. Peterborough United have a history of cup giant-killings. They set the record for the highest number of league goals (134,
Terry Bly Terence Geoffrey Bly (22 October 1935 – 24 September 2009) was an English football striker. Career He was renowned for his goalscoring prowess, most notably for Norwich City and Peterborough United, scoring a record 54 goals in the latter' ...
alone scoring 52) in the 1960-61 season, which was their first season in the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
, in which they won the
Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
title. The club's highest finish position to date was tenth place in
Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
, then the second tier of English football, in the 1992-93 season. Irish property developer
Darragh MacAnthony Darragh MacAnthony (born 24 March 1976) is an Irish football chairman, author and entrepreneur. Early life and education MacAnthony, the son of Austin MacAnthony, a nightclub owner, MacAnthony was educated at St Mary's College, Dublin. He moved ...
was appointed chairman in 2006 and is now owner, having undertaken a lengthy purchase from Barry Fry who remains director of football, having also been manager of the club from 1996 to 2005. Peterborough also has a non-league club: Peterborough Sports who play in the National League North. As well as
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, Peterborough has teams competing in
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
,
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, hockey, ice hockey, rowing, athletics,
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
and
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
. Although Cambridgeshire is not a first-class cricket county, Northamptonshire staged some home matches in the city between 1906 and 1974. Peterborough Town Cricket Club and the City of Peterborough Hockey Club compete at their shared ground in Westwood. After reforming in 2005, rugby union club
Peterborough Lions RFC Peterborough Lions Rugby Football Club, formerly Westwood RUFC, is an English rugby union team based in Bretton near Peterborough. The club runs one senior team, a youth academy team, an under-16s side and four junior teams. with the first XV cu ...
now compete in
National League 3 Midlands National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
. Meanwhile, the city's oldest rugby team, Peterborough RUFC, play at Second Drove (otherwise known as "Fortress Fengate"), and have struggled in recent seasons. Relegation in 2013–14 season, from Midlands 1 East, has been followed by a season in the lower-mid table of the Midlands 2 East (South). Peterborough City Rowing Club moved from its riverside setting to the current Thorpe Meadows location in 1983. The spring and summer regattas held there attract rowers and scullers from competing clubs all over the country. Every February the adjacent River Nene is host to the head of the river race, which again attracts hundreds of entries. Peterborough Athletic Club train and compete at the embankment athletics arena. In 2006, after 10 years, the
Great Eastern Run The Perkins Great Eastern Run is a running event that takes place every year in Peterborough, United Kingdom, generally in mid-October. The event returned in 2006 after a 10-year absence and is rapidly gaining popularity. Currently, there are th ...
returned to the racing calendar. Around 3,000 runners raced through the flat streets of Peterborough for the half-marathon, supported by thousands of spectators along the course.
Peterborough Phantoms The Peterborough Phantoms are a British ice hockey team that play at the Planet Ice Peterborough Arena, in Bretton, Peterborough. The Peterborough Phantoms ice hockey club was founded in 2002. It replaced the former city based team, the Pet ...
are the city's ice hockey team, playing in the NIHL at Planet Ice Peterborough, located on Mallard Way in Bretton.
Motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...
is also a popular sport in Peterborough, with race meetings held at the
East of England Showground The East of England Showground is a large showground area (667,731sqm) located on East of England Way in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The Showground is owned by Bellway as of around 2019 and the site currently includes the East of Engla ...
. The team, known as the Peterborough Panthers, have operated regularly in the Elite League. The Showground hosts the annual British Motorcycle Federation Rally each May. In 2009, Peterborough hosted one of the first rounds of the
Tour Series The Tour Series is an annual series of cycling criterium races held in the United Kingdom since 2009. It is televised by ITV4 in the UK. The competition emphasises team effort with individual wins deemed less important. The races are held over 1 ...
, a new series of televised town and city centre cycling races. , the city has hosted a round of the Tour Series each year since, with the exception of 2013. In March 2017 the first
bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
session in England for over a century was held in Peterborough, in the form of rink bandy. In 2018 Peterborough Bandy Club was founded. At the
2022 Women's Bandy World Championship The 2022 tournament was originally to be held in Stockholm, and this was the logo created for it. The 2022 Women's Bandy World Championship was an international bandy tournament for women and the 11th (XI) Women's Bandy World Championship organiz ...
Great Britain made its debut in the tournament, represented by a Peterborough team.


Media

There is a major radio transmitter at
Morborne Morborne is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Morborne lies approximately south-west of Peterborough, near Yaxley. Morborne is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well a ...
, approximately eight miles (13 km) west of Peterborough, for national
FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
( BBC Radios 1–4 and Classic FM) and BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. This facility includes a 154-metre (505 ft) high guyed radio mast which collapsed in 2004 after a fire and has since been re-built. Another transmission site at Gunthorpe in the north east of the city transmits AM/ MW and local FM radio. The site is only 3 metres (10 ft)
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
and has an 83-metre (270 ft) high active insulated guyed mast situated on it. Peterborough is covered by six local radio stations and one regional station, though only two community stations broadcast from the city. These are Salaam FM, catering for the local Muslim population, which started broadcasting on 106.2 MHz in 2016 and Peterborough Community Radio (PCR FM), a station formed as a result of a merger between former Internet stations Peterborough FM and Radio Peterborough, which started broadcasting on 103.2 MHz in 2017. Heart Cambridgeshire, the original independent local radio station launched as Hereward Radio in 1980 and becoming
Heart Peterborough Heart Peterborough (formerly Hereward FM) was an Independent Local Radio station serving Cambridgeshire, south Lincolnshire and west Norfolk. Launched on 10 July 1980 as Hereward Radio 225, the station was the first local service in the area, wi ...
in 2009, still holds a large section of the market on 102.7 MHz but relocated to Cambridge in 2012, where it began sharing the localised programming (of mainly national output) with
Heart Cambridge Heart 103 (formerly Q103) is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Cambridge on 103.0 MHz and DAB Digital Radio. Heart also broadcast in Newmarket and Haverhill on 97.4 MHz. History The station was originally owned by ...
. Hereward's sister station, WGMS, was launched on the old 1332 kHz (225 meters) frequency in 1992; known as Classic Gold from 1994 to 2007, it is now part of Heart's sister Gold Radio network, but has no programming made in Peterborough. Connect Radio (from 1999 to 2010, known as Lite FM), was the city's second commercial station on 106.8;MHz, but is now broadcast partly from Kettering and partly from Southend. Connect Radio was again sold and rebranded as Smooth East Midlands on 1 October 2019. BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, the
BBC local radio BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations. History The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...
station, began broadcasting on 1 May 1982 on 95.7 MHz (and, originally, 1449 kHz) in the north of the county; it maintains a studio in Priestgate, having moved from Broadway in 2012. Kiss 105-108 is the regional station for the East of England, broadcasting, since 2006, on 107.7 MHz in Peterborough.
NOW Peterborough Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquar ...
is the local
DAB DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to: Dictionaries * ''Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies * ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949 Places * Dąb, ...
multiplex; BBC National DAB and the national commercial multiplex, Digital One, are also available in the city. Peterborough is in the Anglia Television transmission area for Independent Television, with a small studio in the city (although it borders ITV Central). This is broadcast with BBC One and Two (East), Channel 4 and Channel 5 from
Sandy Heath Sandy Heath transmitting station is a television broadcast station located between Sandy, Bedfordshire and Potton near the B1042. It is owned by Arqiva, formerly NTL Broadcast. It was built in 1965, originally broadcasting Anglia Television on V ...
. The digital switchover in the East of England took place in 2011. Shopping channel Ideal World is broadcast nationwide on
Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...
from studios in Newark Road, Fengate. The '' Peterborough Telegraph'' (established 1948) is the city's newspaper, published on Thursdays and, until 2012, six days a week as the Evening Telegraph, with jobs, property, motors and entertainment supplements. The Telegraph is now owned by East Midlands Newspapers, part of
Johnston Press Johnston Press plc was a multimedia company founded in Falkirk, Scotland, in 1767. Its flagship titles included UK-national newspaper the '' i'', ''The Scotsman'', the ''Yorkshire Post'', the ''Falkirk Herald'', and Belfast's ''The News Letter'' ...
of Edinburgh. Its website, Peterborough Today, is updated six days a week. The ''PT's'' sister paper, the ''Peterborough Citizen'' (1898), was a weekly paper delivered free to many homes in the city. The '' Peterborough Herald and Post'' (1989, a replacement for the ''Peterborough Standard'', established 1872) ceased publication in 2008. The publisher
Emap Ascential plc, formerly EMAP, is a British business-to-business media business specialising in exhibitions & festivals and information services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Ric ...
, which specialises in the production of magazines and the organisation of business events and conferences, traces its origins back to Peterborough in 1854. The 33rd Mayor of Peterborough, Sir Richard Winfrey JP, founder of what would become the East Midland Allied Press, was perhaps the last person to read the
Riot Act The Riot Act (1 Geo.1 St.2 c.5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled and o ...
in 1914. Peterborough has been used as a location for various television programmes and films. The 1982 BBC production of '' The Barchester Chronicles'' was filmed largely in and around Peterborough. In 1983 opening scenes for the 13th James Bond film, ''
Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by G ...
'', starring Sir
Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...
, were filmed at Orton Mere. A music video for the song " BreakThru" by the band Queen was also shot on the preserved Nene Valley Railway in 1989. In 1995
Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...
filmed train crash sequences for the 17th Bond film, '' GoldenEye'', at the former sugar beet factory. A scene for the film '' The Da Vinci Code'' was filmed at Burghley House during five weeks' secret filming in 2006; and actor, Lee Marvin, found himself camping in Ferry Meadows during the filming of '' The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission'' in 1985. In October 2008 Hollywood returned to Wansford for the filming of the musical '' Nine'', starring Penélope Cruz and Daniel Day-Lewis.


Landmarks

The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter,
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and
Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
, whose statues look down from the three high gables of the West Front, was founded as a monastery in AD 655 and re-built in its present form between 1118 and 1238. It has been the seat of the Bishop of Peterborough since the diocese was created in 1541, when the last abbot was made the first bishop and the abbot's house was converted into the episcopal palace. Peterborough Cathedral is one of the most intact large
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
buildings in England and is renowned for its imposing early English Gothic West Front which, with its three enormous arches, is without architectural precedent and with no direct successor. The cathedral has the distinction of having had two queens buried beneath its paving:
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
and Mary, Queen of Scots. The remains of Queen Mary were removed to Westminster Abbey by her son James I when he became King of England.Sweeting, Walter Debenham ''The Cathedral Church of Peterborough: A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See'' (pp.3–35) G. Bell & Sons, London, 1898
facsimile of the 1926 reprint of the 2nd ed. of Bell's Cathedrals
from Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 23 April 2007).
The general layout of Peterborough is attributed to Martin de Vecti who, as abbot from 1133 to 1155, rebuilt the settlement on dry limestone to the west of the monastery, rather than the often-flooded marshlands to the east. Abbot Martin was responsible for laying out the market place and the wharf beside the river. Peterborough's 17th-century Guildhall was built in 1671 by John Lovin, who also restored the bishop's palace shortly after the
restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
of King Charles II. It stands on columns, providing an open ground floor for the butter and poultry markets which used to be held there. The Market Place was renamed Cathedral Square and the adjacent Gates Memorial Fountain moved to Bishop's Road Gardens in 1963, when the (then weekly) market was transferred to the site of the old cattle market.
Peterscourt Peterscourt is a building in Peterborough, on City Road, which was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1859. It is Grade II listed. History The building was designed for, and housed, St. Peter's Teacher Training College for me ...
on City Road was designed by Sir
George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
in 1864, housing St. Peter's Teacher Training College for men until 1938. The building is mainly listed for the 18th century doorway, brought from the
London Guildhall Guildhall is a municipal building in the Moorgate area of the City of London, England. It is off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. The building has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and i ...
following war damage. Nearby Tout Hill, the site of a castle bailey, is a scheduled monument. The city has a large
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
park containing formal gardens, children's play areas, an aviary, bowling green, tennis courts, pitch and putt course and tea rooms. The Park has been awarded the Green Flag Award, the national standard for parks and green spaces, by the Civic Trust. A
Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or ...
was erected in Broadway cemetery by the Imperial War Graves Commission in the early 1920s.
The Lido ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, a striking building with elements of art deco design, was opened in 1936 and is one of the few survivors of its type still in use.
Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery houses the historical and art collections of the city of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, England. Managed by Vivacity on behalf of the city council, it is part of the Greater Fens Museum Partnership. Histo ...
, built in 1816, housed the city's first infirmary from 1857 to 1928. The museum has a collection of some 227,000 objects, including local archaeology and social history, from the products of the Roman pottery industry to Britain's oldest known murder victim; a collection of marine fossil remains from the Jurassic period of international importance; the manuscripts of John Clare, the "Northamptonshire Peasant Poet" as he was commonly known in his own time; and the Norman Cross collection of items made by French prisoners of war. These prisoners were kept at
Norman Cross Norman Cross Prison in Huntingdonshire, England, was the world's first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp or "depot", built in 1796–97 to hold prisoners of war from France and its allies during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic War ...
on the outskirts of Peterborough from 1797 to 1814, in what is believed to be the world's first purpose built prisoner of war camp. The art collection contains an impressive variety of paintings, prints and drawings dating from the 1600s to the present day. Peterborough Museum also holds regular temporary exhibitions, weekend events and guided tours.
Burghley House Burghley House () is a grand sixteenth-century English country house near Stamford, Lincolnshire. It is a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, built and still lived in by the Cecil family. The exterior largely retains its Elizabet ...
to the north of Peterborough, near Stamford, was built and mostly designed by Sir William Cecil, later 1st Baron Burghley, who was Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign. The
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
, with a park laid out by
Lancelot 'Capability' Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English lan ...
in the 18th century, is one of the principal examples of 16th-century English architecture. The estate, still home to his descendants, hosts the
Burghley Horse Trials The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three-day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, currently in early September. Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is classified by the FEI as one of the six leading th ...
, an annual three-day
event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...
. Another Grade I listed building,
Milton Hall Milton Hall near Peterborough, is the largest private house in Cambridgeshire, England.This Milton Hall should not be confused with the other Milton Hall just to the north of Cambridge in the village of Milton. The Milton Hall near Cambridge is ...
near Castor, ancestral home of the Barons and later
Earls Fitzwilliam Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
, also dates from the same period. For two centuries following the restoration the city was a
pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...
of this family. The
John Clare Cottage John Clare Cottage is a cottage and literary museum in Helpston, Peterborough, United Kingdom. The cottage was the birthplace of English poet John Clare (1793-1864). The thatched Grade II* cottage at 12 Woodgate, Helpston, originally consisted of ...
in the village of Helpston was purchased by the John Clare Trust in 2005. The cottage, home of John Clare from his birth in 1793 until 1832, has been restored using traditional building methods to create a resource where visitors can learn about the poet, his works and how rural people lived in the early 19th century. The John Clare Cottage and Thorney Heritage Museum form part of the Greater Fens Museum Partnership, along with Peterborough Museum and Flag Fen.
Longthorpe Tower Longthorpe Tower is a 14th-century three-storey tower in the village of Longthorpe, famous for its well-preserved set of medieval murals. Details Longthorpe tower is located in the village of Longthorpe, now a residential area of Peterborough ...
, a 14th-century three-storey tower and fortified manor house in the care of English Heritage, is situated about west of the city centre. It is a scheduled monument, and contains the finest and most complete set of domestic paintings of their period in northern Europe. Nearby Thorpe Hall is one of the few mansions built in the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
period. A maternity hospital from 1943 to 1970, it was acquired by the
Sue Ryder Foundation Sue Ryder is a British palliative, neurological and bereavement support charity based in the United Kingdom. Formed as The Sue Ryder Foundation in 1953 by World War II Special Operations Executive volunteer Sue Ryder, the organisation provides c ...
in 1986 and is currently in use as a hospice.
Flag Fen Flag Fen, east of Peterborough, Pryor 2005. p. 9. England, is a Bronze Age site which was constructed about 3500 years ago and consists of more than 60,000 timbers arranged in five very long rows, creating a wooden causeway (around 1 km lo ...
, the Bronze Age archaeological site, was discovered in 1982, when a team led by Dr
Francis Pryor Francis Manning Marlborough Pryor (born 13 January 1945) is an English archaeologist specialising in the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Britain. He is best known for his discovery and excavation of Flag Fen, a Bronze Age archaeological s ...
carried out a survey of dykes in the area. Probably religious, it comprises a large number of poles arranged in five long rows, connecting Whittlesey with Peterborough across the wet fenland. The museum exhibits many of the artefacts found, including what is believed to be the oldest wheel in Britain. An exposed section of the Roman road known as the
Fen Causeway Fen Causeway or the Fen Road is the modern name for a Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built fro ...
also crosses the site. The Nene Valley Railway, which is now a 7.5-mile (12 km)
heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
, was one of the last passenger lines to fall under the
Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
in 1966, although it remained open for freight traffic until 1972. In 1974, the former development corporation bought the line, which runs from the city centre to
Yarwell Junction Yarwell Junction is the current western terminus of the Nene Valley Railway. It opened at Easter 2007. It was formerly the junction of the Peterborough to Northampton and Peterborough to Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market ...
just west of Wansford via
Orton Mere Nene Park is a country park in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. Opened in 1978, it occupies a site approximately three and a half miles long, from slightly west of Castor to the centre of Peterborough. The Park ha ...
and the 500 acre (202 ha)
Ferry Meadows Nene Park is a country park in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. Opened in 1978, it occupies a site approximately three and a half miles long, from slightly west of Castor to the centre of Peterborough. The Park ha ...
country park, and leased it to the Peterborough Railway Society.
Railworld Railworld Wildlife Haven is a charity in Peterborough which has a nature haven, a model railway and other exhibits. It is located on a landscaped former coal storage yard which once served Peterborough Power Station. It was founded by Rev. R ...
is a railway museum located beside
Peterborough Nene Valley railway station Peterborough Nene Valley is a station on the Nene Valley Railway and is the current eastern terminus of the line. Situated adjacent to Railworld, the station can be found west of the East Coast Main Line, close to the Junction of London Road a ...
. The Nene Park, which opened in 1978, covers a site long, from slightly west of Castor to the centre of Peterborough. The park has three lakes, one of which houses a watersports centre. Ferry Meadows, one of the major destinations and attractions signposted on the
Green Wheel Peterborough Green Wheel The Peterborough Millennium Green Wheel is an network of cycleways, footpaths and bridleways. Designed as part of a sustainable transport system for the city, it was created as part of a Millennium project around Peter ...
, occupies a large portion of Nene Park. Orton Mere provides access to the east of the park. Southey Wood, once included in the Royal Forest of Rockingham, is a mixed woodland maintained by the Forestry Commission between the villages of Upton and Ufford. Nearby, Castor Hanglands, Barnack Hills and Holes and
Bedford Purlieus Bedford Purlieus is a ancient woodland in Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. It is a national nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest owned and managed by the Forestry Commission. In Thornhaugh civil parish, south of Stamf ...
national nature reserves are each sites of special scientific interest. In 2002, the Hills and Holes, one of Natural England's 35 spotlight reserves, was designated a special area of conservation as part of the
Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...
network of sites throughout the European Union.


Notable people

Peterborough is the birthplace of many notable people, the astronomer
George Alcock George Eric Deacon Alcock, MBE (28 August 1912, in Peterborough, Northamptonshire – 15 December 2000) was an English astronomer. He was one of the most successful visual discoverers of novae and comets. George’s interest in astronomy wa ...
, one of the most successful visual discoverers of
nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
s and comets; John Clare, from Helpston, the nineteenth century poet; artist, Christopher Perkins – brother of Frank; and Sir
Henry Royce Sir Frederick Henry Royce, 1st Baronet, (27 March 1863 – 22 April 1933) was an English engineer famous for his designs of car and aeroplane engines with a reputation for reliability and longevity. With Charles Rolls (1877–1910) and Claude ...
, 1st Baronet of Seaton, engineer and co-founder of Rolls-Royce. Physician, actor and author, "Sir"
John Hill John Hill may refer to: Business * John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary * John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter * John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...
, credited with 76 separate works in the ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', the most valuable of which dealing with botany, is also said to have been born here. The socialist writer and illustrator,
Frank Horrabin James Francis "Frank" Horrabin (1 November 1884 – 2 March 1962) was an English socialist and sometimes Communist radical writer and cartoonist. For two years he was Labour Member of Parliament for Peterborough. He attempted to construct a so ...
, who was born in the city, and was elected as the Labour Member of Parliament in
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
. The utilitarian philosopher, Dr
Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher * Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist * Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...
, was 14th Lord Bishop of Peterborough from 1691 until his death in 1718; and Norfolk-born nurse and humanitarian, Edith Cavell, who received part of her education at Laurel Court in the Minster Precinct, is commemorated by a plaque in the cathedral and by the name of the hospital. A gravedigger called Old Scarlett, who's portrait can be seen above the west door of Peterborough Cathedral, is considered a folk hero. He died in 1594 at the age of 98, having spent much of his life as the sexton at Peterborough Cathedral; having buried two monarchs, he has also been suggested as the inspiration for the gravedigger in Shakespeare's '' Hamlet''. Two prominent historical figures were born locally, Hereward the Wake, an outlaw who led resistance to the Norman Conquest and now lends his name to several places and businesses in the city; and St. John Payne, one of the group of prominent Catholics martyred between 1535 and 1679 and later designated the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, who was
beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and canonised with the other 39 by Pope Paul VI in 1970. Musicians include Sir Thomas Armstrong, organist, conductor and former principal of the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
; Andy Bell, lead vocalist of the
electronic pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...
duo Erasure; Barrie Forgie, leader of the BBC Big Band; Don Lusher, trombonist and former professor of the Royal College of Music and the
Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
School of Music; Paul Nicholas, actor and singer; Maxim Reality and
Gizz Butt Graham Anthony "Gizz" Butt (born 3 August 1966 in Manchester, England) is a British musician, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Janus Stark best known for being the live guitarist for the band The Prodigy in the late 1990s. His own band Jan ...
of
The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
and
Aston Merrygold Aston Iain Merrygold (born 13 February 1988) is an English singer, dancer, television personality and actor. He is known for being a member of the British boy band JLS, who were the runners-up to Alexandra Burke in the fifth series of ''The X ...
of Brit Award-winning pop group
JLS JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company Ne ...
. Comedian Ernie Wise lived on Thorpe Avenue for many years, next door to Canadian baritone and actor
Edmund Hockridge Edmund James Arthur Hockridge (9 August 1919 – 15 March 2009) was a Canadian baritone and actor who had an active performance career in musicals, operas, concerts, plays and on radio. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'', his life ...
.
Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...
also lived in the city in the early 1990s. Other media personalities include actors
Simon Bamford Simon Bamford is an English film, television and stage actor. He is well known for playing the Butterball Cenobite in ''Hellraiser'' in 1987 and its sequel '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' in 1988. Career Simon graduated from Mountview Academy ...
, known for the 'Hellraiser' franchise,
Adrian Lyne Adrian Lyne (born 4 March 1941) is an English film director, writer and producer. Having begun his career directing 1970s television commercials, Lyne made well-received short films which were entries in the London Film Festival. He started mak ...
, director of ''
Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne from a screenplay by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. Starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and Anne Archer, the film centers ...
'',
Oscar Jacques Oscar Jacques (born Peterborough, England Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough ...
, known for playing Tom Tupper in the CBBC Series ''
M.I. High ''M.I. High'' is a British action television series produced by Kudos for CBBC and created by Keith Brumpton. The series focuses on a team of undercover teenage spies working for a fictional version of the secret intelligence agency MI9 who have ...
'', Luke Pasqualino, known for his roles in '' Skins'' and ''
The Musketeers ''The Musketeers'' is a British period action drama programme based on the characters from Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel ''The Three Musketeers'' and co-produced by BBC America and BBC Worldwide. The series follows the musketeers Athos, Aramis ...
''; television presenter,
Sarah Cawood Sarah Louise Cawood (born 7 August 1972 in St Pancras, London) is an English broadcaster, best known for presenting the BBC Children's Saturday flagship morning show ''Live & Kicking''. Career Cawood grew up in the Cambridgeshire village of ...
, who grew up in Maxey; BBC Formula One presenter, Jake Humphrey; football journalist and Talksport radio presenter, Adrian Durham; and the biologist, author and broadcaster, Prof.
Brian J. Ford Brian J. Ford HonFLS HonFRMS (born 1939 in Corsham, Wiltshire) is an independent research biologist, author, and lecturer, who publishes on scientific issues for the general public. He has also been a television personality for more than 40 ...
, who attended the King's School and still lives in Eastrea near Whittlesey. PJ Ligouri, a YouTuber with over a million subscribers spent his childhood in Peterborough. Local businessman,
Peter Boizot Peter James Boizot MBE (; 16 November 1929 – 5 December 2018) was an English entrepreneur, restaurateur, politician, art collector and philanthropist. He is best known as the founder of PizzaExpress. Early years The son of Gaston and Su ...
, founder of the Pizza Express restaurant chain and Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, has supported the cultural and sporting life of Peterborough and received its highest accolade, the freedom of the city. The thalidomide victim
Terry Wiles Terrence 'Terry' Wiles (born 12 January 1962) was one of the most disabled thalidomide babies born in the UK. He has since become known internationally through the Emmy Award winningOn Giant's Shoulders'', was born in the city. In the sporting world, former Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer,
David Bentley David Michael Bentley (born 27 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played primarily as a winger, but also played as a central midfielder or as a second striker. Bentley started his career with Arsenal in the Premie ...
, was born in the city, as was Louis Smith, who at the 2008 games became Great Britain's first gymnast to win an individual Olympic medal in a century. Chelsea Football player, currently on loan at Luton Town footballer
Isaiah Brown Isaiah Jay Brown (born 7 January 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and is currently a free agent. He represented the England national under-20 team. Brown played for West Bromwich Albion's academ ...
, was born in Peterborough, before joining Leicester City and later West Bromwich Albion, becoming the second youngest player to play in the Premier League. Harry Wells a rugby union player for
Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
in Premiership Rugby was born in Peterborough and attended The King's (The Cathedral) School, made his debut in 2021.


Geography


Climate

According to the Köppen classification the British Isles experience a maritime climate characterised by relatively cool summers and mild winters. Compared with other parts of the country, East Anglia is slightly warmer and sunnier in the summer and colder and frostier in the winter. Owing to its inland position, furthest from the landfall of most Atlantic depressions, Cambridgeshire is one of the driest counties in the UK, receiving, on average, around 600 mm (2 ft) of rain per year. The Met Office weather station at Wittering, within the unitary authority of Peterborough, recorded a maximum temperature of on 25 July 2019. The lowest temperature in recent years was during February 2012.


Topography

East Anglia is most notable for being almost flat (it is mainly on a floodplain). During the Ice Age much of the region was covered by ice sheets and this has influenced the topography and nature of the soils. Much of Cambridgeshire is low-lying, in some places below present-day mean sea level. The lowest point on land is supposedly just to the south of the city at Holme Fen, which is 2.75 metres (9 ft) below sea level. The largest of the many settlements along the Fen edge, Peterborough has been called the ''Gateway to the Fens''. Before they were drained the Fens were liable to periodic flooding so arable farming was limited to the higher areas of the Fen edge, with the rest of the Fenland dedicated to pastoral farming. In this way, the mediaeval and early modern Fens stood in contrast to the rest of southern England, which was primarily arable. Since the advent of modern drainage in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the Fens have been radically transformed such that arable farming has almost entirely replaced pastoral. The unitary authority extends north west to the settlements of
Wothorpe Wothorpe is a village and civil parish in the Peterborough unitary authority of Cambridgeshire, England. It is in the far north-west of the district, and to the south of Stamford (in Lincolnshire). The parish borders Northamptonshire to the west ...
and Wittering and east beyond Thorney into the historic Isle of Ely and includes the Ortons, south of the River Nene. It borders Northamptonshire to the west, Lincolnshire to the north, and the Cambridgeshire districts of Fenland and Huntingdonshire to the south and east. The city centre is located at 52°35'N latitude 0°15'W longitude or Ordnance Survey
national grid reference National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
TL 185 998. Urban areas
''Townships are in bold type. In addition to the surrounding villages, Bretton, Orton Longueville and Orton Waterville are parished. The city council also works closely with Werrington neighbourhood association which operates on a similar basis to a parish council.''
Bretton
Dogsthorpe Dogsthorpe is a residential area and electoral ward of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 9,620. Cambridgeshire Fire and ...
Eastfield
Eastgate Eastgate may refer to: Places Canada * Eastgate, Alberta, Canada * Eastgate, British Columbia, Canada United Kingdom * Eastgate, County Durham, England * Eastgate, Norfolk, England * Eastgate, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England * Eastgate, C ...
Fengate Fengate is a predominantly industrial area of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it forms part of Peterborough East ward. The industrial estate is k ...
FlettonGunthorpeThe Hamptons
Longthorpe Longthorpe is an area of the city of Peterborough, in the unparished area of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Located west from the city centre, the area covers . For electoral purp ...
Millfield Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding schoo ...
Netherton
Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...
New EnglandThe Ortons
Parnwell Parnwell is residential area of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes, it forms part of the east ward. Development in Parnwell began in the early 1990s, ...
Paston
Ravensthorpe Ravensthorpe may refer to any of the following places. England *Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire **Ravensthorpe railway station, Dewsbury *Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire *Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire *Ravensthorpe, an histor ...
Stanground Stanground is a residential area in the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it comprises Stanground South and Fletton & Stanground wards in North West ...
WaltonWerringtonWest TownWestwoodWoodston Rural areas
'' Civil parishes do not cover the whole of England and mostly exist in rural hinterland. They are usually administered by parish councils which have various local responsibilities.''
Ailsworth Ailsworth or Ailesworth is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Peterborough unitary authority, about west of the city centre. The parish is part of the former Soke of Peterborough, which was considered geograph ...
BaintonBarnackBorough FenCastor
Deeping Gate Deeping Gate is a village and civil parish, lying on the River Welland in Cambridgeshire. Traditionally, the area was part of the Soke of Peterborough, geographically considered a part of Northamptonshire; it now falls within the City of Peter ...
Etton
Eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
Eye GreenGlinton
Helpston Helpston (also, formerly, "Helpstone") is an England, English village formerly in the Soke of Peterborough, geographically in Northamptonshire, subsequently (1965–1974) in Huntingdon and Peterborough, then in Cambridgeshire, and administered b ...
Marholm Marholm is a village and civil parish in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. West of Peterborough and 1 mile from the seat of the Fitzwilliam family at Milton Hall. The parish covers some 1,400 acre ...
MaxeyNewboroughNorthborough
Peakirk Peakirk is a village and civil parish in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For local government purposes it forms part of Glinton and Castor ward; for parliamentary purposes it falls within Peterbor ...
Southorpe Southorpe is a settlement and civil parish in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it forms part of Barnack Barnack is a village and civil parish, now in the Peterborough unit ...
St. Martin's WithoutSuttonThorneyThornhaughUfford
Upton Upton may refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Upton, Slough, Berkshire (in Buckinghamshire until 1974) * Upton, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet near Aylesbury * Upton, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough * Upton, Huntingdonshire, a location in Cambridge ...
WansfordWittering
Wothorpe Wothorpe is a village and civil parish in the Peterborough unitary authority of Cambridgeshire, England. It is in the far north-west of the district, and to the south of Stamford (in Lincolnshire). The parish borders Northamptonshire to the west ...
These are further arranged into 24 electoral
wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
for the purposes of local government. 15 wards comprise the Peterborough constituency for elections to the House of Commons, while the remaining nine fall within the North West Cambridgeshire constituency.


Linguistics

Peterborough lies in the middle of several distinct regional accent groups and as such has a hybrid of Fenland
East Anglian East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom of the Kingdom of East Anglia, East Angles, ...
, East Midland and London Estuary English features. The city falls just north of the A vowel
isogloss An isogloss, also called a heterogloss (see Etymology below), is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Major d ...
and as such most native speakers will use the flat A, as found in ''cat'', in words such as ''last''. ''Yod''-dropping is often heard from Peterborians, as in the rest of East Anglia, for example ''new'' as . However, the large number of newcomers has impacted greatly on the English spoken by the younger generation. Common so-called Estuary English features such as ''L''-vocalisation, T glottalisation and ''Th''-fronting give today's Peterborough accent a definite south-eastern sound.


Affiliations

Town twinning started in Europe after the Second World War. Its purpose was to promote friendship and greater understanding between the people of different European cities. A twinning link is a formal, long-term friendship agreement involving co-operation between two communities in different countries and endorsed by both local authorities. The two communities organise projects and activities addressing a range of issues and develop an understanding of historical, cultural, lifestyle similarities and differences. Peterborough is twinned with the following municipalities: *
Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municipalities ...
, Spain (birthplace of Queen Katherine, 1986) *
Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...
, France (1957) * Forlì, Italy (1981) * Viersen, Germany (1981) * Vinnytsia, Ukraine (1991)
Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...
and Forlì are also twinned with each other. The city also has more informal friendship links with
Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...
, Italy;
Kwe Kwe Kwekwe ( ), known until 1983 as Que Que, is a city in the Midlands province of central Zimbabwe. The city has a population of 119,863 within the city limits, as of the 2022 census, making it the 7th-largest city in Zimbabwe and the second-most p ...
, Zimbabwe; Pécs, Hungary; and all Peterboroughs around the world. The county of Cambridgeshire has been twinned with Kreis Viersen, Germany since 1983.


Freedom of the City

The following People, Military Units and Organisations and Groups have received the
Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
of Peterborough.


Individuals

*
Peter Boizot Peter James Boizot MBE (; 16 November 1929 – 5 December 2018) was an English entrepreneur, restaurateur, politician, art collector and philanthropist. He is best known as the founder of PizzaExpress. Early years The son of Gaston and Su ...
: 2007. *
Wyndham Thomas Wyndham Rowland Thomas (1 June 1911 – 29 January 1992) played first-class cricket in one match for Somerset in 1928. He was born in Bedford and died at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. Thomas had one of the briefest first-class cricket care ...
, British Architect. 19 September 2015 * Louis Smith: 21 March 2017. * James Fox: 21 March 2017. * Lee Manning: 21 March 2017. *
Tommy Robson Thomas Henry Robson (31 July 1944 – 8 October 2020) was an English footballer who made more than 600 appearances in the Football League playing as a left winger. Life and career Robson was born in Gateshead. He played for Newcastle United ...
: 12 March 2020.


Military Units

* RAF Wittering: 1983. * 158 (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps (Volunteers): 25 July 2009. * 115 (Peterborough) Squadron Air Training Corps: 28 April 2014.


Organisations and Groups

* The Salvation Army (Peterborough Branch): 4 March 2015. * The Royal British Legion (Peterborough Branch): 28 July 2021.


References


Notes


Footnotes


Bibliography

* Banham, John ''Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Cambridgeshire'' HMSO, London, 1994. * Banham, John ''Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of Basildon & Thurrock, Blackburn & Blackpool, Broxtowe, Gedling & Rushcliffe, Dartford & Gravesham, Gillingham & Rochester upon Medway, Exeter, Gloucester, Halton & Warrington, Huntingdonshire & Peterborough, Northampton, Norwich, Spelthorne and the Wrekin'' HMSO, London, 1995. * Bennett, Jack Arthur Walter ''Middle English Literature'' (ed. and completed by Douglas Gray) Oxford University Press, 1986 (). * Brandon, David and Knight, John ''Peterborough Past: The City and The Soke'' Phillimore & Co., Chichester, 2001 (). * Chisholm, Hugh (ed.) ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (11th ed., 28 vols.) Cambridge University Press, 1911 (text in the public domain). * Clark, Cecily (ed.) ''The Peterborough Chronicle 1070–1154'' Oxford University Press, 1958 (). * Colpi, Terry ''The Italian Factor: The Italian Community in Great Britain'' Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, 1991 (). * Davies, Elizabeth et al. ''Peterborough: A Story of City and Country, People and Places'' Peterborough City Council and Pitkin Unichrome, 2001 (). * Garmonsway, George Norman (trans.) ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' J. M. Dent & Sons, London, 1972 & 1975 (). * Grainger, Margaret ''A Descriptive Catalogue of the John Clare Collection'' Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery, 1973 (). * Hancock, Henry Drummond ''Report and Proposals for the East Midlands General Review Area'' (LGCE Report No.3) HMSO, London, 1961. * Hancock, Henry Drummond ''Report and Proposals for the Lincolnshire and East Anglia General Review Area'' (LGCE Report No.9) HMSO, London, 1965. * Hancock, Tom ''Greater Peterborough Master Plan'' Peterborough Development Corporation, 1971. * Ingram, James Henry (trans.) ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' J. M. Dent & Sons, London, 1823 (1847 Everyman's Library ed. with additional readings from the translation of
John Allen Giles John Allen Giles (1808–1884) was an English historian. He was primarily known as a scholar of Anglo-Saxon language and history. He revised Stevens' translation of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the English ...
). * King, Richard John ''Handbook to the Cathedrals of England'' John Murray, London, 1862. * Labrum, Edward A. ''Civil Engineering Heritage: Eastern and Central England'' Thomas Telford, London, 1994 (). * Leatham, Victoria ''Burghley: The Life of a Great House'' The Herbert Press, London, 1992 (). * Matthew, Henry Colin Gray and Harrison, Brian Howard (eds.) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (60 vols.) Oxford University Press in association with the British Academy, 2004–2006 (). * Mellows, William Thomas (ed.) ''The Chronicle of Hugh Candidus a Monk of Peterborough'', Oxford University Press, 1949 (scholarly ed. in Latin). * Mellows, William Thomas (ed.) ''The Peterborough Chronicle of Hugh Candidus'' (trans.) Peterborough Natural History, Scientific and Archæological Society, 1941 (popular ed. in English). * Newton, David ''Men of Mark: Makers of East Midland Allied Press'' Emap, Peterborough, 1977 (). * Parthey, Gustav and Pinder, Moritz (eds.) ''Itinerarivm Antonini Avgvsti et Hierosolymitanum: ex libris manu scriptis'' Friederich Nicolaus, Berlin, 1848. * Pryor, Francis ''Flag Fen: Life and Death of a Prehistoric Landscape'' Tempus Publishing, Stroud, 2005 (). * Rhodes, John ''The Nene Valley Railway'' Turntable Publications, Sheffield, 1976 (). * Salter, Mike ''The Castles of East Anglia'' Folly Publications, Malvern, 2001 (). * Skinner, Julia (with particular reference to the work of Robert Cook) ''Did You Know? Peterborough: A Miscellany'' The Francis Frith Collection, Salisbury, 2006 (). * Sweeting, Walter Debenham ''The Cathedral Church of Peterborough: A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See'' G. Bell & Sons, London, 1898 (1926 reprint of the 2nd ed. of Bell's Cathedrals). * Tebbs, Herbert F. ''Peterborough: A History'' The Oleander Press, Cambridge, 1979 (). * Turner, Roger ''Capability Brown and the Eighteenth Century English Landscape'' Phillimore & Co., Chichester, 1999 (). * Youngs, Frederic A. ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'' (2 vols.) The Offices of the Royal Historical Society, University College London, 1991 ().


External links


Peterborough City Council

Opportunity Peterborough

Peterborough Today
{{Authority control Cities in the East of England Towns in Cambridgeshire New towns in England New towns started in the 1960s Unparished areas in Cambridgeshire