Peterborough
The City of
Peterborough is a
cathedral city and
Unitary Authority in the
East of England. For
ceremonial purposes it is in the
county of
Cambridgeshire.
Peterborough
Town Hall is located 73.7 miles (118.6 km) north from the centre of
London at
Charing Cross. The city is situated on the
River Nene which flows into the
North Sea approximately 30 miles to the north-east. The local topography is notoriously flat and low-lying, and in some places lies below sea-level. The area known as the
Fens falls to the east of Peterborough.
The City of Peterborough includes the outlying settlements of
Wittering and
Thorney and as a unitary authority borders
Northamptonshire,
Lincolnshire, and
Cambridgeshire.
In
2005 the City of Peterborough had an estimated population of 165,000.
Early history
The Romans first established the fort of
Durobrivae in the vicinity around
43 AD which later grew into the town.
Peterborough (
Burgh, Burgus sancti Petri) is proved by its original name
Medeshampstede to have been a Saxon village before
655 when Saxulf, a monk, founded the monastery on land granted to him for that purpose by
Penda, king of Mercia. Its name was altered to Burgh between
992 and
1005 after Abbot Kenulf had made a
wall round the minister, but the town does not appear to have been a borough until the
12th century. The burgesses received their first charter from "Abbot Robert" — probably Robert of Sutton (
1262–
1273).
Historically the Dean and Chapter, who succeeded the Abbot as
lords of the manor, appointed a high bailiff, and the constables and other borough officers were elected at their
court leet, but the borough was incorporated in
1874 under the government of a Mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 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 and borough. In
1576 Bishop Scamble sold the lordship of the hundred of Nassaburgh, which is 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, marquesses of Exeter, had a separate gaol in Peterborough for prisoners arrested in the soke.
Weaving
The trades of weaving and woolcombing were carried on in Peterborough in the
14th century. The
abbot formerly held four fairs, of which two, one called St Peter's fair, granted in
1189 and later held on the second Tuesday and Wednesday in July, and the other called the Bridge fair, granted in
1439 and held on the first Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in October, still survive and were purchased by the corporation from the ecclesiastical commissioners in
1876.
Industrial revolution
One of the key points in the development of Peterborough was the decision to route the main east coast railway line through the city. As a result, Peterborough developed into an important railway hub.The railway, coupled with vast local clay deposits, enabled large scale
brick making and distribution to take place. The Greater Peterborough area was the UK's leading producer of bricks for much of the
20th century.
Politics
Peterborough sent two members to parliament for the first time in
1547. At this current moment in time, Peterborough is in the hands of
Conservative MP Stuart Jackson.
Modern history
Designated a "
New town" in
1968,
Peterborough Development Corporation was formed in partnership with the City Council to house
London's 'overspill' population in new townships sited around the existing built-up area. There were to be four townships; at
Bretton,
Orton,
Paston/Werrington and
Castor. The last of these was never built, but instead a fourth township is now taking shape south of the city at
Hampton. A new network of high-speed roads, known as 'Parkways' were constructed around the city. During the period between
1971 and
1991, Peterborough's population grew by 45.4%
In 2005 a new Urban Regeneration Company named Opportunity Peterborough was set up by the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to oversee Peterborough's future development. During 2006-2012 a £1 billion re-development of the City Centre and surrounding areas will take place.
On February 18th 2005, Government figures released showed that Peterborough was experiencing a boom period, compared to the rest of the country. Economic growth on average for the UK was 5.5% whilst in Peterborough, it was 6.9%.
Local government
From 1889 to 1965 the
Soke of Peterborough formed an
administrative county with boundaries similar, although not identical, to the current unitary authority. The Soke of Peterborough was merged with
Huntingdonshire in 1965 to form
Huntingdon and Peterborough.
On
April 1 1974 Huntingdon and Peterborough was abolished and the current district was created by the merger of the
Municipal Borough of Peterborough,
Old Fletton urban district,
Barnack Rural District,
Peterborough Rural District,
Thorney Rural District and part of
Norman Cross Rural District. The newly created district became part of the
non-metropolitan county of
Cambridgeshire.
On
April 1 1998 the city was given independence from Cambridgeshire as a
unitary authority and continues to form part of that county for ceremonial purposes.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Peterborough at current basic prices
published (pp.240-253) by
Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|
| 1995 | 1,821 | 16 | 552 | 1,254 |
| 2000 | 2,387 | 12 | 580 | 1,795 |
| 2003 | 2,932 | 15 | 727 | 2,189 |
includes hunting and forestry
includes energy and construction
includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Peterborough is experiencing an economic boom, believed to be due to the regeneration plan laid out for the city over the coming decade or so. In 2005, Peterborough's economic growth was 6.9%, the most in the entire UK. The average for the UK was 5.5%.
Peterborough is a major stop on the
East Coast Main Line, and is 45-50 minutes journey time by rail from Central
London with high-speed services from
Kings Cross station operated by the
Great North Eastern Railway company or slower services operated by
First Capital Connect.
Bus services in the city are operated by the
Stagecoach Group.
Peterborough has a business airfield with a paved runway at Conington and a recreational airfield hosting a well-known parachute school at Sibson. It is a major railway junction where a number of cross-country routes converge.
Central Trains operate the
Liverpool to
Norwich,
Birmingham to
Stansted Airport routes. Trains to
Lincoln, a commuter stopping service to
London via
Hitchin as well as the high speed
London to
Yorkshire,
Edinburgh and
Newcastle lines also run through the city.
Despite its large-scale growth, Peterborough has the fastest peak and off-peak travel times for a city its size in the UK, thanks to the construction of the 'Parkways'.
The
Peterborough Millennium Green Wheel is an 80km 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.
The Local Transport Plan anticipates expenditure totalling around £180 million for the period up to 2010 on major road schemes to accommodate development.
Peterborough's secondary education system is currently under going immense change. Five of the city's fifteen
secondary schools are to be closed and demolished over the coming few years and replaced with flagship academies which are set to open in September 2007. Some of the secondary schools that remain will be extended, enlarged and added to. Over £200 million is to be spent on this major redevelopment of the city's secondary education system. The changes are to be on-going from 2005-2010.
The city also has its own
Further Education colleges, Peterborough Regional College &
Peterborough Adult Learning service. The college attracts over 15,000 people each year, from the UK and abroad, to study there. It is currently ranked in the top 5% of colleges in the UK.
Peterborough is currently without its own
university, since
Loughborough University closed its "Loughborough University at Peterborough"
campus in 2003. In 2006, however, Peterborough Regional College was in talks with
Anglia Ruskin University to develop a new university centre for Peterborough.
Today, Peterborough's 165,000 strong population is of mixed races and nationalities. Established
Asian, Black and
Italian communities are found in the city. There is also a 6,000 strong Portuguese population and more recently thousands of eastern Europeans have settled in the area. The districts around the City centre are where the majority of the recent immigrants and ethnic minorities live.
The city also contains a population of mixed religious beliefs. Whilst housing many
churches and a
cathedral, Peterborough also has two
mosques, a
Hindu temple,
Buddhist gathering centre and a
synagogue.
The city hasn't changed without problems however. In May 2004, then again in July that year, groups of
Pakistani residents clashed with
Afghan and
Iraqi Asylum seekers. In the "running street battles", houses and cars are set alight, whilst windows are smashed. Some people are hospitalized. The fighting occurred in the multicultural
Millfield district of the city.[
1]In July, a festival set up by the
Indian community to celebrate the city's diversity turned violent. Pakistanis and Iraqis clashed over the weekend, leaving a man in hospital and large gangs fighting.[
2] Since then, race relations have improved significantly.
As Peterborough expands, soaks up more UK and foreign citizens, it has introduced a new development plan. Its aim is to accommodate an extra 22,000 homes, 18,000 jobs and over 40,000 people living in Peterborough by 2020. The Hampton township will be completed, south Stanground will have a 1,500 home development and Paston will have a 1,200 home development plan. A new city-centre shopping centre complete with 'continental style' streets, transport interchange and hospital will all be built.
To help cope with the influx of people moving to the city, thought to be many thousands a year, the City
Council has put forward plans to construct an average of 1,300 homes every year until 2021.
Peterborough United F.C. 'The Posh' is the local Football Club. The ground is situated at London Road and is located on the south bank of the
River Nene. Although the club is currently experiencing a lean period under the ownership of
Barry Fry, The Posh have a proud history of cup giant killings and set the record for the highest number of goals scored in a league season when notching 134 goals during their first season in the
Football League in 1960/1961, when they won the Fourth Division title, with Terry Bly bagging 52 of them.
As well as football, Peterborough has teams represented in
Rugby,
Cricket,
Hockey and
Ice Hockey.
Peterborough Phantoms are the city's
Ice Hockey team, playing in the
EPIHL league.
Peterborough Town Cricket Club (PTCC) and Peterborough Town Hockey Club (PTHC) compete at the shared ground of Bretton Gate. Whereas the city's oldest and most successful rugby team,
Peterborough Rugby Union Football Club,play at 'Fortress Fengate', in eastern Peterborough.
Speedway motorcycle racing is also a popular sport in Peterborough with racing being held at the
East of England Showground.
*
Andy Bell, lead singer of the electronic pop band
Erasure was born and spent his youth in Peterborough.
*
Peter Boizot, founder of the
Pizza Express restaurant chain, has supported the cultural and sporting development of the city, including a spell as owner and chairman of Peterborough United.
*
Sarah Cawood, television presenter
*
John Clare, poet
*
Adrian Durham, Radio TalkSport presenter
*
Don Lusher, trombonist
*
Paul Nicholas, actor and singer
*
Keith Palmer, better known as
Maxim Reality, member of dance music band
The Prodigy*
Henry Royce, co-founder of
Rolls-Royce Limited*
Nigel Sixsmith, founder member of
The Art Of Sound, Musician, well known
Keytar player
*
Hereward the Wake, outlaw who led a resistance against
William the ConquerorThere is a major radio
transmitter at Morborne, approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of Peterborough for National
FM radio (BBC Radio 1-4 & Classic FM) & BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. This facility includes a 163 metre high guyed radio mast which collapsed on
October 30 2004 after a fire and has since been re-built.
There is also another transmission site to the North East of the city at Gunthorpe. This transmits local AM/MW services, plus FM commercial radio. The site is only 3 metres above sea level and has an 83 metre high active insulated guyed mast situated on it.
Peterborough has 5 local
radio stations and 1 regional station:
Hereward FM, named after
Hereward the Wake, is the original station in the city and still holds a large section of the market. It originally transmitted on 95.7 MHz FM & 225 metres MW (1332 kHz AM). After a few years it changed FM frequencies to 102.7, where it remains today. Bought from its original management (Mid-Anglia Radio plc), it became part of the GWR network which is now within the super-conglomerate GCap Media. Hereward FM broadcasts "today's best music" including pop and rock from the 80s, 90s and 00s. Hereward FM broadcasts on 102.7 FM, and is based on the outskirts of Queensgate Shopping Centre.
Classic Gold 1332 broadcasts a 'gold' music service. The frequency used to be the AM/MW outlet for
Hereward FM, but on
April 14 1992 split from its FM sister service to broadcast as "WGMS 1332 - The World's Greatest Music Station". When Mid-Anglia Radio sold its stations (
Hereward FM & WGMS plus
KLFM 96.7 in
King's Lynn and CNFM 103 in
Cambridge) in 1994, the AM service was rename
Classic Gold 1332.
Vibe FM 105-108 is the regional station for the East Of England. It covers
Suffolk, East
Norfolk,
Cambridge and Peterborough with a service of
fresh dance and urban with 80s/90s re-vibed classics. It broadcasts to the city on 107.7 FM from the Gunthorpe transmission site.
Lite FM is Peterborough's second local FM commercial radio station and has struggled to gain listeners against Hereward FM. It started out as a temporary trial local radio service under the management of Wayne Fitzgerald (a former Hereward FM presenter) and broadcast at least 4 trials between
September 17 1995 and
July 17 1997. Originally based in the Managing Directors garage, Lite FM moved into their current home in mid-1997. They launched the cities first full time cable-only radio service, broadcasting on 106.3 FM (cable hook-up) and on cable TV's 'The Local Channel'. This was distributed by cable TV provider, Bell Cablemedia (later Cable & Wireless). In 1999 they won a full-time licence to broadcast to the City of Peterborough. Lite FM (
Good Company, Great Music) begin a full-time (freely available) FM service on Saturday
July 24 1999. It broadcasts adult soft rock and pop on 106.8 FM and is staffed by a mix of full time staff and volunteers. Lite FM is now owned by Forward Media and is currently located on the 2nd Floor, 5 Church Street, Peterborough, in the Northern Rock Building.
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, launched on
May 1 1982, also has studios in the city, on Priestgate, broadcasting local output in place of the countywide programming on 95.7 FM at peak listening times. In 1990 the station broadcast under the guise of BBC Radio Peterborough, but this separate programming lasted from 5 years. It originally transmitted on 102.7 FM and 1449 kHz AM (this was a temporary frequency!). It can now be found on 95.7 FM only. The AM 1449 kHz frequency is used by the BBC's other 'local' service called
BBC Asian Network.
The Evening Telegraph (formerly the Peterborough Evening Telegraph or P.E.T.) is the city's daily newspaper, which is published every Monday-Saturday with local news, plus Jobs, Property, Motors and entertainment supplements as well as a Saturday lifestyle magazine. It is based in city centre offices in Priestgate and is part of the East Midlands Newspapers group, owned by Johnston Press. Its website
Peterborough Today is updated six days a week.
Peterborough is also the home [
3] of one the UK's largest media conglomorates.
EMAP[
4]
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Burghley House*
Peterborough Cathedral *
Longthorpe Tower*
Flag Fen*
Nene Valley Railway*
StiltonCathedral
Peterborough Cathedral is one of the most notable mediaeval cathedrals in the United Kingdom. The philosopher
Richard Cumberland (
1631–
1718) became bishop of Peterborough in
1691.
One curious fact about Peterborough is that there is a church (St. John's) just outside the Cathedral in Cathedral Square. Why was a church built right next the cathedral? The reason for this is that at some point in history the
monks of the abbey shut their doors to the general public which meant that they had to build their own church to worship in (the current St John's was
consecrated in the early 15th century).
As the last resting-place of
King Henry VIII's wife
Catherine of Aragon, buried in Peterborough Cathedral, the city is twinned with:
*
Alcalá de Henares,
Spain (Catherine's birthplace)
*
Bourges,
France*
Forli,
Italy*
Viersen,
Germany*
Vinnytsya,
UkraineThe cathedral was briefly the resting-place of a second Queen,
Mary Queen of Scots following her execution on the orders of
Queen Elizabeth I. She was buried there in 1587. In 1612 her son
King James - James VI of
Scotland had her body moved to
Westminster.
Townships in Bold.
*
Bretton*
Dogsthorpe*
Eastgate*
Fengate*
Fletton*
Gunthorpe*
Hampton*
Longthorpe*
Millfield*
Netherton*
New England*
The Ortons*
Paston*
Ravensthorpe*
Stanground*
Walton*
Werrington*
West Town*
Westwood*
Woodston*
Barnack*
Eye*
Glinton*
Marholm*
Milking Nook*
Northborough*
Peakirk*
Sutton*
Thornhaugh*
Thorney*
Upton*
Wansford*
Wothorpe*
Peterborough City Council*http://www.opportunitypeterborough.co.uk/ Peterborough £1 billion development
*
The Cambridgeshire (City of Peterborough) (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996 - which formed Peterborough unitary authority.
*
Guide to Peterborough Local Studies Collection - gives some history of administrative changes.
*
2001 Census*
- The Young People's Office (Young people involved in decision-making)*
Peterborough Museum, Libraries and Archives service.*
Peterborough Cathedral*
Peterborough Today*
- Peterborough United Football Club*
7,000+ photos in and around Peterborough *
Peterborough Adult Learning Service
