About Peterborough

Find out more about Peterborough

Dating back to 655 AD, the city of Peterborough was built along the side of the River Nene, in the county of Cambridgeshire. The name Peterborough derived from its Norman Cathedral, St. Peter. Peterborough Cathedral is one of the finest Norman buildings surviving in Europe and over the centuries two Queens, Katherine of Aragon and Mary Queen of Scots, have been laid to rest there.

The Saxon settlement was also known as Medehamstede, after its abbey. However, in 870 AD, the Abbey was destroyed and left abandoned until the new abbey was built in 972 AD on the outskirts of the city. By 1000 A.D, a town wall was constructed and Peterborough began to establish itself as a market town.

During the middle ages, disaster struck again and in 1070, the town of Peterborough was burnt down. The town was eventually rebuilt within the following years and a new market place, new streets and another new abbey was introduce to the town. It was from here that Peterborough began to establish itself as a main industrial town in weaving wool.

During the 12th Century, Peterborough held its first Annual Fair, which attracted buyers and sellers from counties all over the country. The fair would last for several days and by the 15th century Peterborough had two annual fairs a year.

In 1539 under the rule of King Henry VIII, the abbey was closed but reopened three years later in 1542 as Peterborough Cathedral. Today it is a prime example of early English Gothic and Norman Architecture.

It wasn’t until the 19th century when the railway was introduced, that Peterborough was able to establish itself as an industrial town specialising in the production of London Bricks at Fletton, iron and webbing. Up until then, Peterborough had been known as the smallest market town during the 18th century and the smallest city in England.

With the introduction of the railway, Peterborough saw a massive increase in its population, which in turn brought new facilities and services to the area, including a general hospital, public library, several cinemas, a swimming pool and a new town hall.

By the late 20th century, Peterborough’s industries had grown further to incorporate tile making, farm machinery, diesel engines and electrical equipment.

In 1967, Peterborough was announced as a new town site, which saw its population soar from 80,000 to nearly 160,000. During the 1970’s and 80’s, three new suburbs, Bretton, Orton and Castor were recreated.

Today, Peterborough is seen as a up and coming historical city that has to the potential to expand further in terms of attractions and education facilities, with plans of introducing a university to the area.

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