125-489: 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 has three lakes, one of which has a watersports centre which provides sailing, kayaking and windsurfing classes. Another lake has a pedalo and rowing boat for hire shop, and
250-576: A borough until at least the 12th century. 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 archaeological site to the east of the city centre. The Romans established
375-529: 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 . 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
500-602: A fortified garrison town at Durobrivae on Ermine Street , five miles (8.0 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 of the late 2nd century. There was also a large 1st century Roman fort at Longthorpe , designed to house half a legion , or about 3,000 soldiers; it may have been established as early as around AD 44–48. Peterborough
625-463: 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 , containing over 90 stores and including parking for 2,300 cars,
750-683: A monument to Peterborough's railway history. However, the locomotive was found to be in good working order, and there was much opposition to the idea of the engine being "stuffed", and it was decided to restore it to full working order. On 28 March 1969, the Peterborough Branch of the East Anglian Locomotive Society was formed, with the intention of purchasing and restoring the BR Pacific locomotive, number BR Standard Class 7 70000 Britannia . By 1970,
875-631: 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 , gave rise to some of the country's most well-known landmarks, all built using the ubiquitous Fletton Brick. Perkins Engines was established in Peterborough in 1932 by Frank Perkins , creator of the Perkins diesel engine. Thirty years later it employed more than
1000-402: 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 opened to the first 850 students in 2009. The former public library on Broadway
1125-452: A number of cross-country routes converge: The River Nene , made navigable from the port at Wisbech to Northampton by 1761, passes through the city centre. The Nene Viaduct 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
1250-492: A portable building desperately in need of repair. NVR has now added a canopy. The station building was offered to the NVR for £1 plus transportation costs. The Park is open throughout the year, but most facilities such as the miniature railway and pedaloes only run from Easter to the end of October. The station is also the site of the new Night Mail Museum, with construction well under way with some exhibits open to view. Overton station
1375-556: A positive impact on development and jobs. In 2008, the BBC broadcast The Poles are Coming! , a controversial documentary on the impact of Polish 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. As of 2006 , Peterborough offered classes in Italian, Urdu and Punjabi in its primary schools. Christianity has
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#17327795516411500-437: A project to construct 350 apartments, various office spaces as well as a new home for Peterborough City Council with other projects within the development to include a Hilton Garden Inn 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
1625-461: A regional hub. Coupled with vast local clay deposits, the railway enabled large scale brickmaking 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
1750-544: A release from Wansford signalbox. Overton Station is equipped with an automatic level crossing which includes the BR prototype solid-state flash circuit driving the flashing warning lights. Access to the sidings here is controlled by a two-lever ground frame requiring the train staff. Orton Mere signalbox was brought to the Nene Valley Railway in the 1980s, and contains a 12-lever Midland Railway lever frame. When
1875-490: A royal visit when the royal family travelled from Peterborough to Barnwell, some 13 miles (21 km) beyond Wansford, to visit Barnwell Manor , home of the then Duke of Gloucester . The station building is now preserved at Wansford station on the NVR, and is known as the Barnwell building. Between 1900 and the 1960s, the line formed an important connection from Norwich , Cambridge and eastern England to Northampton and
2000-630: 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 , runs from Oakham in Rutland, through Peterborough, to East Harling in Norfolk. While cycling within
2125-712: 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
2250-444: A tenth of the population of Peterborough, mainly at Eastfield . Baker Perkins had relocated from London to Westwood , now the site of HM Prison Peterborough , 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,
2375-481: A train is in section. For demonstrating the Travelling Post Office (TPO) apparatus, a starter signal can be operated from a nearby ground frame, giving the demonstration train a good run-up from a standing start. This signal is normally kept 'off' (allowing trains to pass); to operate the frame one must be in possession of a padlock key, and also a battery to power the electric lever lock in lieu of
2500-555: A tramway joining the northern suburbs with the city centre. The system, which operated under the name Peterborough Electric Traction Company , 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 (formerly Cambus and Viscount ) and Delaine Buses . Despite its large-scale growth, Peterborough has
2625-408: 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
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#17327795516412750-407: A whole. As part of the government's M11 corridor , 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
2875-517: Is a cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire , England. For centuries, the city and many of its surrounding villages formed the Soke of Peterborough , in the historic county of Northamptonshire . The Soke of Peterborough had an independent county council , based in the city, between 1889 and 1965. After the Soke of Peterborough was abolished in 1965,
3000-500: Is a disused station between Wansford and Ferry Meadows. It closed in the 1960s and despite the NVR (which runs through it) reopening, the station remains closed. Overton (for Ferry Meadows) is located near the site of Orton Waterville station and provides access to the nearby country park . The current building was moved brick by brick from the old goods yard at Fletton Junction on the East Coast Main Line; it replaced
3125-402: 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 , Hindus , Jews and Sikhs . 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
3250-472: Is also a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority , led by the directly elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough . The area governed by the city council is the district of Peterborough , which extends beyond the urban area of Peterborough itself to include surrounding villages and rural areas, particularly to the north-west and north-east. Peterborough's city status
3375-470: Is currently planned to relocate the station building currently at Wansford Road Station (on the old line from Wansford to Stamford) to here. The Nene Valley Railway has a full-scale "replica" of Thomas the Tank Engine working a passenger and freight service on 'Thomas' events; it was the first railway in the world to possess one. The Nene Valley Railway considers its Thomas to be the "official" Thomas
3500-733: Is currently unused, though it is a current project to use it to control access to the Railworld site next-door. It contains a 40-lever Great Northern frame. The run-round loop is controlled at the West end by a two-lever ground frame requiring the Orton Mere - Peterborough NVR train staff, and by a hand-point at the East end. Communication is mostly carried by hand-held radio, but signal-post telephones are available around Wansford. Wansford and Orton Mere signalboxes are connected by block bell which
3625-605: Is divided into four absolute block sections, controlled by staff and ticket working: Yarwell to Wansford , Wansford to Orton Mere , Orton Mere to Peterborough NVR and Orton Mere to the Fletton Junction with the East Coast Main Line . The signalbox at Orton Mere can be switched out, creating a single section all the way from Wansford to Peterborough and isolating the Fletton Branch, allowing
3750-409: 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. According to the 2011 census , 82.5% of Peterborough's residents categorised themselves as white , 2.8% of mixed ethnic groups , 11.7% Asian , 2.3% black and 0.8% other. Amongst
3875-468: Is formally held by the local government district rather than the urban area. Much of the Peterborough urban area is unparished , but some of the suburbs are included in civil parishes , including Bretton , Hampton Hargate and Vale , Orton Longueville , and Orton Waterville . Peterborough was an ancient parish , which was historically in the Nassaburgh hundred of Northamptonshire . The parish
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4000-485: Is located at the southwesterly tip of Overton Lake. Here, a range of both hot and cold beverages and comestibles are served. Both venues are owned by Nene Park Trust and managed by Raj Regmi. Ferry Meadows also includes a group camping site (tents) and a year-round touring caravan Caravan Club site. Ferry Meadows is one of the major destinations and attractions signposted on the Green Wheel cycle route. Orton Mere
4125-442: Is no platform here, as Orton Mere station is only a few hundred yards close by. Peterborough Nene Valley (aka Peterborough West), is the current end of the line. Here there is a platform, a bay platform and a station building housing a ticket office, a small souvenir shop and toilets. It is a 10-minute walk from here to Peterborough City Centre. Railworld is next door to the station with a wide variety of rolling stock on display. It
4250-564: 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. There is one main tier of local government covering Peterborough, at unitary authority level, being Peterborough City Council , which meets at Peterborough Town Hall and has its main offices at Sand Martin House on Bittern Way. The city council
4375-463: Is now known, granted to the abbey by King Henry VI , 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 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
4500-565: Is often used by people for activities such as pleasant walks, picnics and barbecues, coarse fishing , bird watching and at the watersports centre, dinghy and board sailing are available. Additionally it has a miniature railway, occasional pony rides, sculptures and two cafés. One café is called Lakeside Kitchen & Bar, which is located next to the Nene Outdoors Watersports and Activities Centre. It serves traditional home-made food. The other café, called Ferry Meadows Café,
4625-574: 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 during the dissolution of the monasteries to pray for his soul. In 2006, 39.4% of Peterborough local education authority pupils attained five grades A* to C, including English and Mathematics, in
4750-592: Is regularly used on galas and some service timetables; the block bell in Orton Mere 'box is of the BR modular "penguin" type. A block instrument and a Tyer 's No. 9 electric token instrument in Wansford 'box are not used. The line has been a location for filming over 150 TV shows, films, adverts and music videos. Between 1977 and 1979, many sequences for the BBC's wartime drama Secret Army were filmed here, principally at Wansford station. In 1982, Wansford station
4875-549: Is the name of a Mere and its surrounding area. There are several moorings nearby for boats navigating the River Nene . The area also gives its name to the nearby Orton Mere railway station on the Nene Valley Railway . 52°33′55″N 0°19′30″W / 52.56528°N 0.32500°W / 52.56528; -0.32500 Peterborough Peterborough ( / ˈ p iː t ər b ər ə , - b ʌr ə / PEE -tər-bər-ə, -burr-ə )
5000-446: 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 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
5125-510: The East Coast Main Line , 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 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
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5250-493: The Flag Fen archaeological site to the east of the current city centre, also with evidence of Roman occupation. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the establishment of a monastery, Medeshamstede , which later became Peterborough Cathedral . As of the 2021 census the built-up area subdivision had a population of 192,178. In 2021 the Unitary Authority area had a population of 215,671. The population grew rapidly after
5375-477: 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 (established in 1946 as Peterborough Technical College) and City College Peterborough (known as Peterborough College of Adult Education until 2010). By 2004, Peterborough College attracted over 15,000 students each year from
5500-554: The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) company was given parliamentary assent to construct a line from Blisworth in Northamptonshire to Peterborough . Completed in 1847, it was Peterborough's first railway line. It terminated at Peterborough, later 'Peterborough East' station . The line was of little significance until the late 19th century, when the London & North Western Railway (L&NWR), which had absorbed
5625-571: The Millfield , 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 km ), including the whole of Northamptonshire, Rutland and
5750-480: The patron saint of workers Saint Joseph (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
5875-795: The 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 subsequently opened its doors in September 2022 on Bishops Road, a five-minute walk from the City Centre. It is 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 took its first cohort of students in 2022, expecting to recruit up to 12,500 by 2028. ARU Peterborough
6000-418: The 'box is not being used, a king lever renders parts of the frame's mechanical interlocking as two disconnected areas of influence, allowing the signals to be pulled off for both directions. The signalling here was substantially augmented in 2015 with the addition of track circuits and the electrification of the crossover. A 'selector locking' mechanism, by which one lever operates one of two signals depending on
6125-483: The 1930s, a Victorian era Great Northern Railway parcels van, and an ex London, Midland and Scottish Railway sorting office carriage from the Great Train Robbery . Demonstration 4 coach mail trains have been run between Sutton Cross and Wansford since 2009. Nene Valley has a large collection of vintage railway wagons , some operational and others undergoing restoration. The Nene Valley Railway
6250-467: 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 postwar period. The leader of the council said in August 2006 that he believed that 80% of
6375-603: The 65,000 people who had arrived in East Anglia 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. Peterborough Trades Council, formed in 1898, is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress . Peterborough railway station is a principal stop on
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#17327795516416500-467: The A1(M) has led to Peterborough being proposed as the site of a 334 acres (1.35 km ) rail-road logistics and distribution centre to be known as Magna Park. The Peterborough Millennium Green Wheel 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
6625-541: The Carriage and Wagon Shed requires the Wansford-Yarwell train staff. The West end of Wansford station is thoroughly track-circuited ; nearby "miniature" relays pick up low Voltage signals applied to the rails and re-transmit them at 50 Volts to the signalbox where shelf relays interlock them with the rest of the signalling. Most of the track circuits are DC, but a recently-installed AC track circuit extends to
6750-596: The Dog-in-a-Doublet lock was built five miles (8.0 km) downstream in 1937. 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 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
6875-438: The East side for pedestrian traffic when the old Great North Road was a busier route; these can be locked shut from the signalbox, and are currently being replaced. Access to the loco yard is controlled by a two-lever ground frame released from the signalbox; this is because a point motor was not available at the time, and replacing it is a job which has never been got round to. A single-lever ground frame controlling access to
7000-539: The Easter weekend, when the new 'Wansford Steam Centre' opened for the first time. Between 1974 and 1977, the line was upgraded to passenger-carrying standard and the first passenger train ran on 1 June 1977, hauled by the 'Nord 3.628' – a French 4-6-0 locomotive and 'SJ 1178' – another Swedish tank engine, pulling a set of ex-BR electrical multiple unit coaches owned by the Southern Electric Group. In
7125-596: The L&;BR, constructed a line via Nassington and King's Cliffe to Seaton , below Welland Viaduct . This turned Wansford , previously an unimportant village station, into a major junction. Its importance increased a few years later when the Great Northern Railway constructed another line via Sutton , Southorpe and Barnack to Stamford , on the Midland Railway line. In 1884 the line received
7250-740: The Midlands. The line was generally acknowledged to be a secondary main line and frequently saw large engines such as Black 5s and B1s . However, the NVR was one of the last passenger line closures of the Dr Beeching era , services to Northampton and Rugby having ceased in 1964 and 1966 respectively. It remained open until 1972 for freight traffic only. In 1968, the Rev. Richard Paten had bought BR Standard Class 5 4-6-0 locomotive, number 73050 , for its scrap value of £3,000. His intention had been to exhibit it outside Peterborough Technology College as
7375-412: The Nene Valley Railway and Railworld Nature Reserve acquired the former Wansford Road Station . Built in 1869, it served the branch line to Stamford, Lincolnshire until it closed in 1929. In 2022, the station and platform were facing demolition by National Highways for the new dual carriageway between Wansford and Sutton. It will be dismantled stone by stone and reconstructed at the eastern end of
7500-470: The Orton Mere crossover was converted from all-mechanical in 2015. The majority of the signals are upper-quadrant mechanical semaphore arms, though four lower-quadrant Great Northern somersault signals are mounted on a gantry controlling down trains out of Wansford. Lights at Orton Mere indicate that the crossover has operated correctly, and flashing white lights at Overton indicate that the automatic level crossing warning lights are showing. Wansford signalbox
7625-465: The Park's tenancies and operations. The Nene Park Trust is tasked, "to provide for the recreation of the public by the provision of a park for the benefit of the inhabitants of Peterborough and visitors with the object of improving the conditions of life for such persons." The park combines a balance of commercial attractions and informal and formal recreational pursuits appropriate to the quiet enjoyment of
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#17327795516417750-660: The Parliamentary soldiers were in Peterborough, however, they ransacked the cathedral, destroying the Lady Chapel , chapter house , cloister , high altar and choir stalls, as well as mediaeval decoration and records. 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 , a liberty within Northamptonshire . This afforded it administrative and judicial independence from
7875-875: The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia (which has its seat at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Baptist , Norwich) and is served by Saint Peter and All Souls Church , 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 Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain . Peterborough has one independent boarding school: The Peterborough School at Westwood House, founded in 1895. The school caters for girls and now boys up to
8000-657: 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 , which covers the remainder of Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk. The current Bishop of Peterborough has been appointed Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Ely, with pastoral care for these parishes delegated to her by the Bishop of Ely . The city falls wholly within
8125-482: The Tank Engine, because it was named by Thomas' creator, the Rev. W. Awdry , in 1971. The replica engine runs at certain special events, weekends and bank holidays; however, the Nene Valley Railway does not host official ' Day out with Thomas ' events as many railways do. Unsuccessfully, HiT Entertainment tried to sue the Nene Valley Railway on the grounds that their Thomas locomotive was breaching their trademark, but they lost
8250-553: 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 closed its Peterborough campus in 2003. Consequently, it became the second largest centre of population in the UK (after Swindon ) without its own higher education institution. In 2006, however, Peterborough Regional College began talks with Anglia Ruskin University to develop
8375-510: 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 in 2014. Designated a New Town in 1967, Peterborough Development Corporation was formed in partnership with the city and county councils to house London's overspill 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,
8500-594: The UK. This is mainly as a result of labour recruitment in the 1950s by the London Brick Company in the southern Italian regions of Apulia and Campania . By 1960, approximately 3,000 Italian men were employed by London Brick, mostly at the Fletton works. In 1962, the Scalabrini Fathers , who first arrived in 1956, purchased an old school and converted it into a mission church named after
8625-749: The age of 18. Peterborough's state schools have recently undergone significant change. Five of the city's fifteen secondary schools were closed in July 2007, to be demolished over the coming years. John Mansfield (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 , designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank which opened in September 2007. Queen Katharine Academy (previously The Voyager School), which has specialist media arts status, replaced Bretton Woods and Walton Community School. It
8750-401: The band members all performed on a Great Western Railway steam train no.3822. Another Bond film GoldenEye was also filmed on the line. For the film, a Class 20 was disguised as a Russian armoured train. In the film, a tunnel that the train seemingly goes into is in fact a small bridge over the tracks. In 2008, Penélope Cruz and Daniel Day-Lewis were among the actors who worked on
8875-617: The branch was strong enough to operate independently as the Peterborough Locomotive Society (PLS). In 1971, 73050 was moved to the British Sugar Corporation 's sidings at Fletton , where it was joined by Hunslet 0-6-0 locomotive 'Jack's Green'. Later that year, the PLS held a meeting at which the group's name was changed to 'Peterborough Railway Society' and the idea of the Nene Valley Railway
9000-526: The broad appeal of the park and its inclusion in the life of the city. There is also a major steam railway run by enthusiasts that is some eight miles (13 km) long. Ferry Meadows is a country park and recreation area that occupies a large portion of the Nene Park, which stretches for six miles (9.7 km) along the banks of the River Nene . It is managed by the Nene Park Trust. The area
9125-597: The case as the court ruled that it was not breaching HiT's trademark because the Hudswell Clarke locomotive was given the name "Thomas" by the creator, Rev. W. Awdry. Nene Valley Railway's coaching stock includes not only the BR Mk. I and BR Mk. II carriages commonly seen on preserved railways in the UK, but also prewar coaching stock from France, Norway, Belgium, Italy, and Denmark. The railway also owns an ex Southern Railways travelling post office dating to
9250-546: The chairmanship of Lord Mawhinney , was set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 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,
9375-466: The city formed part of the short-lived Huntingdon and Peterborough until 1974. Though the city has a long history as part of Northamptonshire (from the Middle Ages up to 1965), the city has been part of Cambridgeshire since 1974, and is the largest settlement in that county. The city is 74 miles (119 km) north of London, on the River Nene which flows into The Wash 27 miles (43 km) to
9500-481: 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. The City of Peterborough local authority area has a population of 217,705 (2022). It
9625-488: The city. Nationally published cartoonist John Elson, from Peterborough, has provided imagery for many of the events. Nene Valley Railway The Nene Valley Railway (NVR) is a preserved railway in Cambridgeshire , England, running between Peterborough Nene Valley and Yarwell Junction . The line is 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (12.1 km) in length. There are stations at each terminus, and three stops en route: Orton Mere , Overton and Wansford . In 1845,
9750-429: 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
9875-560: The countryside in addition to farmed land and nature areas. From a total of 2,535 acres (1,026 hectares) within the Trust's management control, 658 acres (266 hectares) are dedicated to Ferry Meadows country park, 259 acres (105 hectares) for two 18-hole golf courses and 82 acres (33 hectares) for organised recreation such as horse riding, rowing, watersports and trout fishing; the remaining 1,535 acres (621 hectares) are in private ownership with managed pathways and informal areas. The landscape of
10000-531: The early 1980s, the NVR decided to extend its running line, which then terminated at Orton Mere station, along the route of the original Nene Valley Line to a new station west of the East Coast Main Line, adjacent to the new Railworld Museum. Peterborough Nene Valley opened, for the first time, on the Late Spring Bank Holiday weekend of 26 May 1986. This extended the NVR to its current length, 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (12.1 km). In 2024,
10125-406: The engine was higher and wider than British stock, it was to be a static exhibition only. During 1974, it was realised that the use of foreign stock and engines could answer the NVR's aspirations. After a feasibility study was carried out, it was discovered that only one bridge would have to be demolished to allow the running to continental loading gauge . Some reductions would also have to be made to
10250-601: The entire railway to be operated from Wansford; in this case the Peterborough NVR token key is kept physically clipped to the Orton Mere train staff. The staff for the Fletton branch was previously kept at Peterborough powerbox, but is now in possession of the NVR, along with the branch itself. All points and signals are operated by heritage electrical and mechanical systems. There are two crossovers, one at Wansford and one at Orton Mere, driven by electric point motors;
10375-639: The environment secretary Michael Gove . During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–21 Peterborough's culture and leisure umbrella charity, Vivacity ceased operating. 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"). According to
10500-461: 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
10625-797: 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 navigation starts at the junction with the Northampton arm of the Grand Union Canal and extends for 91 miles (146 km) ending at Bevis Hall just upstream of Wisbech. The tidal limit used to be Woodston Wharf until
10750-408: 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
10875-525: 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
11000-529: The late tenth century, possibly after Abbot Kenulf had built a defensive wall 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 (see Peterborough Chronicle below) and a history of the abbey by the monk Hugh Candidus . The town does not appear to have been
11125-583: The laws of the realm and the rights of the City of Peterborough". 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
11250-451: The line, was anxious that trains should start running as soon as possible – certainly before the opening of the new Nene Park in 1978. However, with the PRC's lack of stock and locomotives this looked highly improbable. In 1973, PRS member Richard Hurlock had approached the society for a home for his ex- Swedish State Railways (SJ) class S1 2-6-4T oil-fired locomotive, number 1928 . Because
11375-422: The mill village of Yarwell, but there is no vehicular access. Yarwell Junction is about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Wansford station, at the other end of Yarwell Tunnel. Wansford is the headquarters of the railway and most of the facilities are based here. The current station building was opened in 1995 and contains a ticket office, shop, cafe and toilets. The locomotive sheds are located at this station. Also at
11500-410: The modern district was created, being a lower tier non-metropolitan district , with the area also being transferred to Cambridgeshire at the same time. In 1998 the Peterborough district was removed from the non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire (the area governed by Cambridgeshire County Council ) to become a unitary authority, whilst remaining part of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire for
11625-582: The north-east; the cathedral city of Ely is 24 miles (39 km) east-southeast across the Fens and the university city of Cambridge is 30 miles (48 km) to the southeast. 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
11750-449: The park is varied, providing a range of natural habitats, informal areas and visitor attractions, including woodland, flood plain meadow and arable fields. In addition local schools make extensive use of the park for educational field study, students also can gain hands on landscape management experience. Within this area there is also a visitor centre, public house, two hotels, sculpture collection, plant nursery and garden centre which add to
11875-455: The passing loop. It was badly damaged in 2023 by an arson attack. Following fund raising by two local youngsters the box has been fully rebuilt and recommissioned. This station provides access to the eastern end of the Nene Park. Longville (or Longueville) Junction is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from Peterborough (Nene Valley) and links to the nearby East Coast Main Line. As of March 2013, there
12000-425: The position of the points, was removed, but is hoped to be reused at the West end of the station. Orton Mere signalbox was subject to an arson attack early in 2023, leaving much of the interior damaged and the electrical instruments destroyed. Repairs and improvements were funded by the efforts of two young local enthusiasts, and the 'box was ceremonially re-opened on 9th March 2024. The signalbox at Peterborough NVR
12125-412: The purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty . 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
12250-402: The railway. Yarwell Junction is the former junction between the lines to Northampton and Market Harborough . It is the current terminus of the NVR's operating line. In April 2006 the track was realigned, allowing a platform to be built at Yarwell Junction, which opened at Easter 2007 (there was never previously a station on the site). The new station is linked by footpaths to Nassington and
12375-471: The railways along with industry, the town became known for brick manufacture, arrived in the 19th century. After the Second World War, industrial employment fell and growth was limited until its designation as a New Town in the 1960s. The town's main economic sectors are financial services and distribution. The original name of the town was Medeshamstede . The town's name changed to Burgh from
12500-452: The rest of the county, with it having a quarter sessions separate from the rest of Northamptonshire from 1349. In 1576 Bishop Edmund Scambler 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
12625-428: The serviceable ex-BR locomotives – all that was left was a collection of rusting hulks. Apart from 73050 , the society's locomotives were mostly small, industrial shunting engines and therefore not suitable for the 11-mile (17.7 km) round trip. Ex-BR rolling stock was also in very short supply following the disposal of most pre-nationalisation (pre-1948) stock. The PDC, having paid out a considerable sum of money for
12750-492: The south bank and the station quarter, where Network Rail is preparing a major mixed use development. 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. In recent years Peterborough has undergone significant changes with numerous developments underway, most notably are Fletton Quays,
12875-472: The station there is a miniature railway , picnic area and children's playground. The station was formerly the junction for a branch to Stamford, which diverged to the north just east of the river bridge at Wansford. The original Wansford station is located on platform three and was built in 1844–1845 in Jacobean style for the opening of the railway. This building was purchased by the railway in 2015. Castor
13000-465: The third lake contains moorings for boats and has access to the River Nene . Nene Park also has three children's play areas, located in different points of the park and a small miniature railway. The main entrance to the park is served by the Nene Valley Railway station at Ferry Meadows , from which all the park's main attractions can be accessed. The eastern end of the park is also served by Orton Mere and Peterborough Nene Valley stations. The park
13125-413: The tunnel mouth. At the East end, the points are protected by a mechanical flange bar which prevents them from being unlocked when a train is present. At Yarwell, the run-round loop is controlled by a single-lever ground frame requiring the train staff. A possible future application of a colour-light signal is to provide an outer home signal to allow shunting to take place on the main line at Wansford while
13250-604: The war between King John 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 's retained, more secular, cathedrals in 1541, having been assessed at the Dissolution as having revenue of £1,972.7s.0¾d per annum. When civil war broke out, Peterborough
13375-421: 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 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 in
13500-703: The width of the platforms. In 1973, BR gave PRS permission to use Wansford signal box and, in September of that year, the first items of stock arrived at the PRS depot. Before the stock could be moved from the BSC depot to Wansford, the missing 400 yards (366 m) of the Fletton Loop had to be rebuilt, allowing access to the Nene Valley line. The track was completed in March 1974 and the stock moved to Wansford in time for
13625-450: 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 , 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, and said it had
13750-412: Was also created in 1541, covering the same area as the city. In 1790 a body of improvement commissioners was established to provide public services in the city. In 1874 Peterborough was incorporated as a municipal borough , with the commissioners replaced by an elected council initially comprising a mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors . The municipal borough was abolished in 1974 when
13875-542: 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 , 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
14000-536: 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. The abbey church
14125-563: Was built in 1907 around a 30-bar London and North Western Railway lever frame of 60 levers; levers 1 to 15 were removed when the Stamford Line was closed. A later addition is a mechanical gated level crossing , operated from a "ship's wheel" at the West end of the 'box. The gates were replaced with ones made new in-house over the Winter of 2022-23, replacing a previous set made in the 1990s. The Wansford crossing includes wicket gates on
14250-718: 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 ,
14375-639: Was conceived as part of the town's 1968 expansion masterplan. Originally within the control of the Peterborough Development Corporation , the management of the park was transferred to the Nene Park Trust, a company limited by guarantee with charitable status in 1988 under the auspices of the New Town Community Related Assets transfer arrangements. An endowment of properties provides sufficient income to cover running costs, along with that generated by
14500-589: 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 . The Royalist forces were defeated within a few weeks and retreated to Burghley House , where they were captured and sent to Cambridge . While
14625-472: Was divided into five hamlets or townships: Dogsthorpe , Eastfield , Longthorpe , Newark and a Peterborough township covering the central part of the parish including the town. Within the Peterborough township was an extra-parochial area known as the Minster Precincts, covering St Peter's Abbey and its close . When the former abbey church became Peterborough Cathedral in 1541, Peterborough
14750-464: Was formally launched. In 1974, the Peterborough Development Corporation (PDC) bought the Nene Valley line between Longville and Yarwell Junctions and it began leasing it to the PRS to operate the railway – a major milestone in the society's history. When the PRS acquired the line, the intention was to work the line with British locomotives and stock. However, enthusiasts from other railways and preservation societies had already acquired almost all of
14875-567: Was from new Commonwealth 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
15000-452: 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. Peterborough enjoys a wide range of events including the annual East of England Show , Peterborough Festival 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
15125-558: 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 parkways , was constructed. Peterborough's population grew by 45.4% between 1971 and 1991. New service sector companies like Thomas Cook and Pearl Assurance were attracted to the city, ending the dominance of the manufacturing industry as employers. An urban regeneration company named Opportunity Peterborough, under
15250-653: Was rebuilt and greatly enlarged in the 12th century. The Peterborough Chronicle , a version of the Anglo-Saxon one, contains unique information about the history of England 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). The place suffered materially in
15375-432: Was renamed Overton 'for Ferry Meadows' in 2017 in conjunction with the Nene Valley Railway's 40th anniversary celebrations. Orton Mere is a two platform station with a station building built in 1983 and a signal box. Until 1986 this was the terminus of the line. Most trains depart from platform 1. Just outside the station towards Peterborough is the Fletton Loop which links the NVR to the mainline. The signal box controls
15500-443: Was thereafter deemed to be a city . The area originally holding city status was the Peterborough township plus the Minster Precincts. Although made a city in 1541, at that time Peterborough was not a borough (despite including the word in its name). Prior to the dissolution of the abbey in 1539, the abbey had been the manorial owner of the town; that ownership passed to the new cathedral authorities. A Peterborough constituency
15625-546: Was used for six weeks to shoot scenes featuring Roger Moore and Maud Adams for the James Bond film Octopussy . Scenes for the biplane/helicopter dogfight from the 1986 film Biggles: Adventures in Time were filmed here, involving one memorable shot where the helicopter piloted by Biggles "lands" on a flat-bed railway carriage. In 1989, Nene Valley was used for the filming of "Breakthru" (a song by queen ) where
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