**History and Early Development**:
– Original name of the town was Medeshamstede.
– Peterborough inhabited for thousands of years.
– Romans established a garrison town at Durobrivae.
– Peterborough was possibly an Anglian settlement before AD655.
– Civil war divided Peterborough between supporters of King Charles I and the Long Parliament.
– Abbey church was rebuilt and enlarged in the 12th century.
– Large 1st-century Roman fort at Longthorpe.
– Housing and sanitary improvements made in 1790.
**Administrative Independence and Economic Development**:
– Peterborough had administrative and judicial independence from Northamptonshire.
– Abbot had privileges of having a prison for felons in the Soke of Peterborough.
– Lordship of the hundred of Nassaburgh sold to Queen Elizabeth I in 1576.
– Peterborough’s population in the built-up area subdivision was estimated at 179,349 in 2020.
– Industrial employment fell after WWII.
– Main economic sectors are financial services and distribution.
– Corporation purchased fairs from Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1876.
– Bridge Fair, granted by King Henry VI, still survives.
**Modern History, Economy, and Regeneration**:
– Railway lines began operating locally during the 1840s.
– Perkins Engines established in Peterborough in 1932.
– Peterborough has a strong economy in the environmental goods and services sector.
– Designated as a New Town in the 1960s.
– PECT works towards promoting healthier and sustainable living.
– Green Festival attracted ministerial attention in 2019.
– Peterborough had the most successful economy among unitary authorities in the East of England from 1995 to 2004.
**Urban Development, Infrastructure, and Employment**:
– Designated a New Town in 1967.
– Queensgate shopping centre opened in 1982.
– £1billion redevelopment planned between 2006 and 2012.
– Peterborough railway station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line.
– Plans to extend Peterborough Railway Station and long stay car park.
– Workplace population of 90,656 divided into residents and commuters.
– Peterborough aims to create 17,500 jobs by 2020.
**Demography, Water, and Community**:
– Peterborough’s local authority area has a population of 216,349 (2021).
– Population forecast to reach 230,000 in 2031 and 240,000 by around 2041.
– River Nene is navigable from Wisbech to Northampton.
– Italian community estimated at 7,000 in 1996.
– Presence of mosques, Hindu, and Sikh temples in specific areas.
– Christianity predominant in Peterborough.
– Construction of a £7 million superchurch, KingsGate.
Peterborough (/ˈpiːtərbərə, -bʌrə/ ⓘ PEE-tər-bər-ə, -burr-ə) is a cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district of Cambridgeshire, England. The city and its surroundings, the Soke of Peterborough, had an independent county council between 1889 and 1965. It formed part of the short-lived Huntingdon and Peterborough between 1965 and 1974. Before 1889, it was a liberty of Northamptonshire.
| Peterborough | |
|---|---|
| Cathedral city and unitary authority | |
 Clockwise from top left: the town hall, the Cathedral Square and the guildhall, cathedral, city skyline and railway station | |
  Peterborough Location within Cambridgeshire | |
| Area | 43.77 km2 (16.90 sq mi) |
| Population | 179,349 (2020 estimate) |
| • Density | 4,098/km2 (10,610/sq mi) |
| Unitary authority | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Areas of the city | List
|
| Post town | PETERBOROUGH |
| Postcode district | PE1–PE8 |
| Dialling code | 01733 |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | peterborough |
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 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 a monastery, Medeshamstede, which later became Peterborough Cathedral.
In 2020 the built-up area subdivision had an estimated population of 179,349. 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 was limited until its designation as a New Town in the 1960s. The town's main economic sectors are financial services and distribution.