87-539: Thorpe Wood is a 10 hectare nature reserve on the western outskirts of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire . It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire . This is ancient woodland on heavy clay, with mature oak and ash trees, and an understorey of hazel and field maple. The ground flora is diverse, including wild garlic , wood anemones and bluebells. There
174-529: 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
261-463: 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,
348-567: 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 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
435-631: 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
522-402: 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
609-452: 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
696-556: 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
783-437: 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
870-461: 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
957-630: 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
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#17327660890631044-712: 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
1131-560: A short account of the deposition of William of Waterville in 1175. It is conjectured that Hugh died soon after the election of Waterville. It is sometimes thought that Hugh also wrote the concluding portions of the Peterborough Chronicle , a local version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , which, like his history, comes abruptly to an end with Abbot William of Waterville's election. This has been rejected on
1218-444: A similar meaning to "albus". John Leland translated "Candidus" as if it were a surname, calling him "Hugh Whyte." Hugh's chief teachers were Abbot Ernulf and his brother Reginald; he wrote of both in terms of warm affection later in his life. He remained a monk under the subsequent Peterborough abbots John, Henry, Martin of Bec , and William of Waterville. He won the affection of the monks and abbots, both as junior and senior,
1305-444: 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,
1392-555: 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
1479-408: 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
1566-407: 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
1653-402: 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
1740-454: Is access from Nene Parkway. 52°34′16″N 0°17′31″W / 52.571°N 0.292°W / 52.571; -0.292 Peterborough Peterborough ( / ˈ p iː t ər b ər ə , - b ʌr ə / PEE -tər-bər-ə, -burr-ə ) is a cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire , England. For centuries,
1827-409: 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
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#17327660890631914-451: Is called the "Book of Robert of Swaffham." However, the earliest surviving version of Hugh's history is in a transcript made in the 17th century, from a manuscript which was lost when part of the Cotton library was destroyed by fire in 1731. The most recent edition of Hugh's history, in which the three Medieval Latin versions are edited together so as to indicate their internal differences,
2001-409: 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
2088-468: 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
2175-627: 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 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
2262-564: 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
2349-463: 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
2436-574: 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
2523-436: 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
2610-703: 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 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
2697-497: 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
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2784-581: 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
2871-477: 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
2958-534: 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
3045-571: 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
3132-524: 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 the war between King John and the confederate barons, many of whom took refuge in
3219-480: 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
3306-795: 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
3393-413: 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 a borough until at least the 12th century. Peterborough and its surrounding areas around have been inhabited for thousands of years because it
3480-467: 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
3567-603: 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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3654-467: 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
3741-610: The Anglo-Norman form " Burch "; its growth in wealth prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066, as a result of which it is said to have become known as "the golden borough"; and he concludes with the election of Abbot William of Waterville. According to Prof. King, "Hugh's writings never stray far from the monastery, its fabric, and its endowment, and the saints who watched over it." Later, anonymous hands interpolated numerous additions, including references to Hugh's death, and
3828-596: 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
3915-536: 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 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
4002-710: 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
4089-875: 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
4176-657: 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
4263-553: 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
4350-510: 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,
4437-594: 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
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#17327660890634524-555: 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 was rebuilt and greatly enlarged in the 12th century. The Peterborough Chronicle , a version of the Anglo-Saxon one, contains unique information about
4611-749: 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
4698-468: The basis that, according to one writer, Hugh failed to understand the English of the Chronicle fully. However, while another writer has observed that Hugh "may well have been at least half Norman", according to the most recent editor of Hugh's history, it shows that "[Old English] was still understood in monastic circles in Peterborough in the mid-twelfth century, quite apart from the evidence afforded by
4785-546: 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,
4872-437: 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, 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
4959-481: 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
5046-478: The city. Nationally published cartoonist John Elson, from Peterborough, has provided imagery for many of the events. Hugh Candidus Hugh Candidus (c. 1095 – c. 1160) was a monk of the Benedictine monastery at Peterborough , who wrote a Medieval Latin account of its history, from its foundation as Medeshamstede in the mid 7th century up to the mid 12th century. Hugh Candidus
5133-429: 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
5220-639: 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
5307-533: 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
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#17327660890635394-797: 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
5481-408: 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
5568-525: 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
5655-583: 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
5742-410: 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
5829-575: 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 was divided between supporters of King Charles I and
5916-419: The most precious of the relics kept at Peterborough. He bore testimony that the flesh and skin was still whole, in accordance with St. Aidan 's prophecy. On the day of Martin's death, 2 January 1155, Hugh was appointed with eleven other senior monks, all of whom were junior to him, to form a committee for the election of the new abbot. They chose William of Waterville, one of their own house. The next day, Hugh
6003-412: 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
6090-452: 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
6177-492: 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,
6264-528: 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 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
6351-481: The transcription of the [Peterborough Chronicle] there". Also, while the most recent editor of the Peterborough Chronicle considers it more likely that Hugh made use of the Chronicle, rather than the other way around, an earlier editor stated that "[all] the evidence there is" seems to be against identifying Hugh with the author of the Chronicle. Hugh's Medieval Latin history of Peterborough Abbey
6438-421: 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
6525-450: 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
6612-468: Was a monk of Peterborough Abbey from early boyhood. He was brought into the community by his elder brother, "Reinaldus Spiritus", or "Reginald Spirit", a sacrist there during Abbot Ernulf 's tenure, 1107–1114. Hugh was a very sickly child, and, though he lived to a good age, he was never strong. He was called "Hugo Albus", meaning "Hugh White", from the paleness and beauty of his countenance; later writers called him "Hugo Candidus", "candidus" having
6699-412: 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
6786-718: 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 ,
6873-472: 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
6960-467: Was equally popular in neighbouring monasteries and in the country around, and was employed in every branch of the business of the monastery, both internal and external. In Abbot Martin's time (1133–55), he was elected sub-prior . He was present when the church was burnt in 1116. At the subsequent reconsecration by Bishop Alexander of Lincoln , in Lent 1139, he kissed and washed the right arm of St. Oswald ,
7047-507: Was first published in 1723 by Joseph Sparke , in his Historiæ Anglicanæ Scriptores Variæ , edited from a 14th-century manuscript known as the "Book of Walter of Whittlesey". An abridged translation of parts into Norman-French verse is printed in the same collection, as well as a continuation up to 1246, both from another manuscript dating from the 1250s, which is now kept in the Manuscript Room of Cambridge University Library , and
7134-567: 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
7221-452: 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
7308-423: 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 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
7395-558: 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
7482-533: Was sent with the prior, Reginald, to announce the election to Henry II , whom they found at Oxford with Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury . Henry confirmed the election. Hugh wrote a history of Peterborough Abbey, in Medieval Latin , in which he describes its foundation as " Medeshamstede " in the 7th century; its refoundation by Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester in the 10th century, and the subsequent change of name to " Burh ", or "Borough", which he gives in
7569-443: 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
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