Welcome to Peterborough's Townpage

Situated seventeen miles north west of Cambridge, Peterborough has a colourful history - from its Roman occupation to the burial of two Tudor Queens.

A Saxon settlement was established called Medeshamstede, but the Peterborough area has many prehistoric sites, identifying people living and farming in the area up to 6,000 years ago. About 2,000 years ago, the Romans built a fortress near Longthorpe and a town called Durobrivae. This area became home to Roman Britain's largest pottery industry.

Work began on the first Abbey (later Cathedral) in 655 but all the early buildings were destroyed by fire in 1116 (the first Abbey would have been in stone). Building of a new abbey took 120 years to complete and it became the burial site of Henry VIII's first wife, Katharine of Aragon. It was also a temporary resting place for Mary Queen of Scots, beheaded at the nearby Fotheringhay Castle.

The fertile Fenland countryside provided a rich source for growing crops and by the 19th century the discovery of clay at Fletton founded a brick industry. Peterborough developed even further as a railway town. Part of the city was later developed as a new town, so it has good shopping facilities and is now a major commercial centre.