Peterborough in 100 Dates E-Book

Jean A. Hooper

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 112

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Experience 100 key dates that shaped Peterborough's history, highlighted its people's genius (or silliness) and embraced the unexpected. Featuring an amazing mix of social, criminal and sporting events, this book reveals a past that will fascinate, delight and surprise both residents and visitors of the city.

Leseprobe

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mike and Dora who patiently helped me research documents and old newspapers and then read the finished text.

All images are property of The History Press unless otherwise credited.

Contents

Title

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Peterborough in 100 Dates

AD 656 17 April

AD 870 22 November

1070 2 June

1116 4 August

1133 29 June

1189 29 June

1238 6 October

1299 29 December

1381 15 June

1394 4 July

1407 24 June

1439 14 July

1461 20 January

1497 13 March

1502 1 August

1530 30 March

1536 29 January

1539 29 November

1541 4 September

1541 4 September

1572 26 June

1576 20 December

1587 1 August

1594 2 July

1643 16 April

1649 29 May

1654 30 August

1665 16 September

1671 19 June

1721 19 August

1744 27 June

1781 15 March

1787 4 May

1790 21 January

1797 10 January

1797 7 April

1798 1 January

1809 1 August

1812 18 May

1819 23 April

1821 7 November

1830 12 June

1830 2 September

1832 28 January

1835 23 February

1835 3 December

1840 23 April

1845 2 June

1848 23 September

1851 25 October

1856 2 June

1856 21 December

1859 18 October

1865 24 June

1872 7 December

1874 17 March

1874 20 May

1877 1 April

1877 23 June

1877 18 August

1883 5 April

1884 5 December

1887 25 June

1891 7 January

1895 29 March

1895 7 August

1896 8 June

1903 24 January

1903 14 September

1906 12 January

1906 24 May

1907 16 September

1910 8 November

1913 16 April

1914 15 August

1916 2 August

1928 1 July

1929 28 June

1932 7 June

1933 26 October

1936 28 May

1942 10 August

1947 21 March

1956 22 August

1960 25 May

1963 17 March

1967 27 July

1975 27 March

1975 10 September

1977 4 June

1978 1 July

1982 9 March

1982 3 November

1998 1 April

2000 3 September

2001 22 November

2009 20 January

2010 4 March

2010 9 July

2014 17 December

Bibliography

About the Author

Copyright

Introduction

Since the first prehistoric settlements along the Fen Edge, Peterborough has become an independent city authority of nearly 190,000 people. Beginning as a Saxon settlement by the Nene known as Medeshampstead, the community increased in importance when a monastery was established by a member of the Mercian royal family in the middle of the seventh century. As the monastery became richer and more influential it drew trade and wealth to the town and when the Benedictine abbey received charters of rights from successive kings of England, the abbots’ power extended over the whole local area. Markets and fairs brought traders from far afield and pilgrims travelled to the abbey of St Peter bringing offerings that made the town even wealthier. The abbey completely dominated life until it was closed by Henry VIII yet its political power had been so absolute that town government was still affected centuries later.

Peterborough became a city in 1541 but was still a small market town where agriculture played a major part in the local economy. Unlike nearby towns such as Stamford, Peterborough did not even have a newspaper. All this changed in the mid-nineteenth century, however, with the coming of the railways. As people moved to the city to work for railway companies, major engineering works were developed and the town began to grow quickly away from the medieval centre. Firms such as Perkins, Peterbrotherhood and Baker Perkins became major employers, as did the brick making industry.

In the late 1960s, Peterborough began another major stage of expansion over a relatively short period of time. In 1967 it was designated as a New Town, which would see townships built around the edges of the centre, dramatically increasing the population. Thousands of houses have been built in Bretton, Orton, Werrington and Hampton as the city continues to attract new companies into an area where the workforce can find accommodation and good transport links. Although some development has occurred in the city centre, for example the Queensgate Shopping Centre, the layout of the main area still shows the pattern of the Middle Ages. The small city centre, the surrounding countryside and rich agricultural land still retain a feeling of what was important in Peterborough’s past.

This book looks at events that have marked life in the area from the first days of settlement. Significant changes in the town can often be related to a single incident. National wars, conflict and politics affected the lives of ordinary residents, as did the affairs of important men and women who were associated with the town. Descriptions of social occasions reflect how townspeople enjoyed their leisure time, either as participants or spectators at major celebrations. Peterborough is a growing city of many nationalities, looking to the future, but its character has been created by events in its past.

PETERBOROUGH IN 100 DATES

AD 656

17 April

According to Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the founder of the first Christian church in Peterborough (then known as Medeshampstead) was murdered at Easter in AD 656 by his treacherous wife. He was local ruler Peada, son of the King of Mercia, and in about AD 655 he had married a Northumbrian princess. His bride’s father insisted that Peada convert to Christianity and four monks accompanied him back to Medeshampstead to establish a small monastery.

Although there is no contemporary account, later kings, including Peada’s brother Wulfhere, ensured that Medeshampstead continued to increase in size and importance by gifts of land and privileges. From such small beginnings grew the great abbey, which saw the development of the surrounding area and the subsequent wealth of the town. When a wall was built round the monastery at the end of the tenth century, the town became known as a ‘burh’, a fortified place. As the abbey was dedicated to Saints Peter, Paul and Andrew, the town became known as the burh of St Peter, then Peterborough.

AD 870

22 November

Peterborough monk Hugh Candidus wrote the history of the abbey from its foundation, drawing on earlier writings and describing events that had taken place over two centuries earlier. The year AD 870 seems to have been catastrophic for the monastery and town, and Candidus’s history describes how Viking raiders set fire to houses and plundered the monastery, killing all but one of the monks there. Candidus’s account also refers to the abbot of the time, Hedda, whose name is traditionally linked to the Hedda or Monks’ Stone. This important Saxon sculpture is one of the oldest objects in the cathedral. A chronicle reputedly written by Ingulph of Crowland likewise describes the events of this time and gives the date of 22 November as the day of the massacre.

Nevertheless, the dates and exact events remain merely conjecture. In fact, it is difficult to know just what damage was done to the town and monastery by the Danes. Viking raiders plundered the wealth of the eastern part of England every year but by the late ninth century they were beginning to settle here permanently. There is no doubt that the ‘Great Army’ made its way through East Anglia at this time, asserting its power over the Saxon kingdoms, and it is likely that the monasteries entered a period of decline. Whether or not the monastery was completely destroyed, it is impossible to say with certainty.

1070

2 June

Peterborough saw some of its fiercest fighting in the Battle of Bolhithe Gate in 1070. This date saw the Danish army and their local Saxon ally, Hereward ‘the Wake’, attack the abbey, intent on plundering its riches before the arrival of Abbot Turold.

Turold, a Norman who had been appointed by William the Conqueror to help quell Saxon resistance, was travelling to Peterborough with his army at the beginning of June when he heard news of the raid. Monks had sent messages asking for the abbot’s aid when the Danes crossed the Fens and arrived on the south side of the abbey where the original Saxon town lay. Unfortunately, Abbot Turold and his forces arrived too late to stop the impending attack and those inside the abbey had been left to hide what treasures they could before preparing to defend themselves. At first they managed to hold back the attackers but, as the battle raged, the Danes set fire to the gate and were able to break through into the abbey. The fire destroyed many of the buildings near the gate and burned down most of the town, though the church itself survived. The abbey was robbed of its treasures before the Danes and their allies fled into the Fens.

1116

4 August

Fire was a constant threat to life and property when nearly every building, and certainly ordinary homes, were built mainly of wood and thatch. On this date, and not for the first time in Peterborough’s history, a fire destroyed the town and burnt down most of the abbey. The church was severely damaged and the blaze in the tower lasted for nine days, according to the account of an eyewitness, Hugh Candidus. The chapter house, the monks’ dormitory and the new refectory, where the monks had eaten for only four days, were the only buildings in the monastery that survived the fire.

Candidus recorded that the abbot, John de Sais, had become so angry on the day of the fire that he left for his house in Castor, cursing the monastery as he went. Later that day, when one of those responsible for the bake house was unable to light a fire, he shouted ‘Devil light the fire’ and flames shot up and spread right through the monastery and town.

The damage to the Saxon church meant that rebuilding had to begin, this time in the Norman style, resulting in the much bigger cathedral that remains today. The Normans may well have rebuilt the church at some point; the fire gave them the opportunity.

1133

29 June

Abbot Martin de Bec was appointed on St Peter’s Day 1133 and was responsible for Peterborough’s first ‘New Town’. The rebuilding of the abbey was already underway and the new, bigger, Norman church meant that changes had to be made to the area around the monastery. The original small Saxon town or ‘vill’ was behind the present-day cathedral by the river, an area that often flooded. The small market meant that there was no room to expand trade and increase revenue, so the market place and town centre were moved to the great Western Gate of the monastery. The large marketstede or square remained the market place until 1963 and the streets that grew up around it gave the town its shape. Although people still lived in the old Saxon settlement, the area never really developed as the new town did. Even in Victorian times this area of the city remained poor while the new market brought more trade and wealth to the rest of Peterborough and buildings spread along streets such as Westgate, Cumbergate and Howegate. ‘Gate’ (gata) was the Danish word for a roadway and Howegate, Midgate today, led round past the ‘howe’ or mound of the former castle. The pattern of Martin le Bec’s new town is still evident today.

1189

29 June

The right to hold markets and fairs was a privilege granted by the king and brought wealth and importance to a town. Peterborough had held a market since the tenth century but in 1189 King Richard I granted a charter to Abbot Benedict which allowed him to hold a fair for St Peter’s Day on 29 June each year. It was held over two days and was on a larger scale than a normal weekly market.

The main reason for a fair in the twelfth century was for trade. People travelled to Peterborough from some distance, bringing animals and goods for sale or buying merchandise from traders in the town. Money was collected from traders and stallholders, and those who tried to sell poor-quality animals or meat were fined at special courts held on market days to deal with petty crime before offenders left town. Extra income came from those travelling into Peterborough to spend their money in the inns and taverns as well as at the stalls, and the fair provided a chance to have a good time, with travelling entertainers and archery competitions amongst the attractions designed to entertain the crowds. The first of Peterborough’s fairs was not the largest but would certainly have boosted the local economy.

1238

6 October