Early history

The Romans first established the fort of Durobrivae in the vicinity around 43 AD which later grew into the town. Peterborough (Burgh, Burgus sancti Petri) is proved by its original name Medeshampstede to have been a Saxon village before 655 when Saxulf, a monk, founded the monastery on land granted to him for that purpose by Penda, king of Mercia.

Its name was altered to Burgh between 992 and 1005 after Abbot Kenulf had made a wall round the minister, but the town does not appear to have been a borough until the 12th century. The burgesses received their first charter from “Abbot Robert” - probably Robert of Sutton (1262-1273).

Historically the Dean and Chapter, who succeeded the Abbot as lords of the manor, appointed a high bailiff, and the constables and other borough officers were elected at their court leet, but the borough was incorporated in 1874 under the government of a Mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors.

Among the privileges claimed by the abbot as early as the 13th century was that of having a prison for felons taken in the soke and borough. In 1576 Bishop Scamble sold the lordship of the hundred of Nassaburgh, which is coextensive with the soke, to Queen Elizabeth I, who gave it to Lord Burghley, and from that time until the 19th century he and his descendants, marquesses of Exeter, had a separate gaol in Peterborough for prisoners arrested in the soke.

Weaving

he trades of weaving and woolcombing were carried on in Peterborough in the 14th century. The abbot formerly held four fairs, of which two, one called St Peter’s fair, granted in 1189 and later held on the second Tuesday and Wednesday in July, and the other called the Bridge fair, granted in 1439 and held on the first Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in October, still survive and were purchased by the corporation from the ecclesiastical commissioners in 1876.

Industrial revolution

One of the key points on the development of Peterborough was the decison to route the main east coast railway line through the city. As a result, Peterborough developed into an important railway hub. The railway, coupled with vast local clay deposits, enabled large scale brick making and distribution to take place. The Greater Peterborough area was the UK’s leading producer of bricks for much of the 20th century.

Modern history

Designated a “New Town” in 1968, Peterborough Development Corporation was formed in partnership with the City Council to house London’s ‘overspill’ population in new townships sited around the existing built-up area. There were to be four townships; at Bretton, Orton, Paston/Werrington and Castor.

The last of these was never built, but instead a fourth township is now taking shape south of the city at Hampton. A new network of high-speed roads, known as ‘Parkways’ were constructed around the city. During the period between 1971 and 1991, Peterborough’s population grew by 45.4%

In 2005 a new Urban Regeneration Company named Opportunity Peterborough was set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to oversee Peterborough’s future development. During 2006-2012 a £1 billion re-development of the City Centre and surrounding areas will be take place. It will see tens of thousands of new homes built around the city as well as thousands of jobs created. A new shopping centre, ‘continental style’ streets, transport interchange and hospital will all be built.