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What is Peterborough celebrating?

In 2018, Peterborough Cathedral celebrates the 900th anniversary of the current cathedral building – the culmination of its long-running Peterborough 900 campaign. To mark the occasion, the whole of Peterborough will be joining the revelry under the City Council’s Peterborough Celebrates banner, with events all year round to celebrate the life of the city past, present and future. To shed light on exactly what it is we’re all celebrating, The Moment posed a simple but challenging question – and got some wonderfully inspiring answers...

Back in 2011, during The Moment’s first full year of publication, we interviewed the Very Reverend Charles Taylor, the then Dean of Peterborough. Although it was early days for the Peterborough 900 campaign, he was very clear on the role the cathedral played in the city and why it there was much more to heritage than simply preserving the past:

“Peterborough’s a great city but if you’re going to attract people to the place you need to have something they can identify with. Liverpool had The Beatles and The Cavern. Manchester has Old Trafford. So what would it be in Peterborough? It has to be the Cathedral. It’s the icon of the city. So I think we should take every opportunity we can to put the place on the map – not just for the sake of the cathedral, but for the entire community.

“I think cathedrals to some extent stand as an icon of stability in an ever-changing world. But the Cathedral always has to bear in mind the context in which it’s set and the community in which it’s working. There’s a huge continuity with the past and, indeed, with the future. If you look at the history of the Cathedral it has always evolved, from its very early days as a little Saxon monastery with a missionary community, then with the great, settled Benedictine abbey that was here, then it had to adapt to all the ramifications of the Reformation, and then on into the 20th and 21st Centuries. So it’s an organic thing; we’re always in the process of ‘becoming’, but we’re not there yet…”

Charles Taylor retired in 2016. But now, with the 900th anniversary year finally upon us – even if we weren’t quite ‘there yet’ – we wanted to find out how far we had come – not only to look the past, but to consider the future. And in thinking how best to achieve this, we took part of our inspiration from one of Peterborough’s greatest treasures, closely connected to the cathedral itself: the Peterborough version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Begun in the 9th century during the reign of Alfred the Great and continuing into the 12th century, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was a contemporary record of events, written as they happened by monks at Peterborough and elsewhere. It was not, however, written in Latin, but in English – or, at least, its earliest version: Old English. Though selective and sometimes frustratingly patchy – and not without bias on the part the individual writers – the Chronicles nonetheless provide some vivid insights, and all in the authentic voices of the times. It’s believed that the fire that destroyed the old Abbey in 1116 – initiating the grand new building, whose birthday Peterborough 900 celebrates – may also have destroyed or damaged Peterborough’s original copy of the Chronicle. The monks made a new copy, drawing on other versions (principally the Kentish version) and adding material all their own. The Peterborough Chronicle continued to be maintained and added to until 1154, and now resides in the Bodleian Library.

In a sense, what we have been doing with The Moment – chronicling highlights in the daily life of the city – is not so different (albeit somewhat less grand). And, since capturing people’s real views in their own words is what we have been about from the very start, the nature of our contribution to the celebrations seemed obvious.

The thoughts we have gathered come from a whole host of individuals we have spoken to over the years – some of them visitors to the city, some long-time residents, but many of them key figures who have been closely involved with its development; everyone from educators, artists and historians to politicians, businesspeople and environmentalists. Each has their own unique perspective on Peterborough. But taken together, they provide us with a bigger picture. And they all start with a question:

What does Peterborough have to celebrate?

“Peterborough should be celebrated as the burial place of two queens, Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, and Mary, Queen of Scots, who were both laid to rest in the magnificent Cathedral. Mary’s body was moved to Westminster Abbey in 1612, but Katherine still lies near the High Altar, and each year the date of her funeral is justly commemorated by the Cathedral and the City of Peterborough.” – Alison Weir, historian and novelist

“Peterborough expertly balances its commitment to protecting and celebrating its heritage with its ambitious and innovative approach to future city development. For example, the city’s iconic Cathedral is celebrating its 900-year anniversary, while underneath its streets, the roll out of full-fibre digital infrastructure will continue to work its way through Peterborough, lighting up businesses with ultra-fast internet connectivity as it goes. Having competed against Dubai and Moscow to be awarded Smart City of the Year in 2015, our Gigabit City infrastructure can only enhance Peterborough’s reputation and position the city as a progressive, exciting place to live, work and play for years to come.” – Neil Aspin, City Development Manager, CityFibre

“The growing arts scene in the city is really exciting. New nights of film, performance, poetry, and music are springing up in venues and bars everywhere. Artists from across the UK and beyond are actively seeking to spend time in Peterborough to develop their projects and all are blown away by the welcome from the community and how open they are to new ideas and getting involved.” – Mark Richards, Director, Metal

“Alongside our heritage and culture, Peterborough has fantastic green spaces to celebrate – especially the incredible community spaces that are Nene Park. 2018 marks our 40th anniversary and we are delighted to be linking the Park’s celebrations with the Peterborough Celebrates programme of events. It’s a fantastic initiative which emphasises just how the city can come together and truly celebrate all that we have to offer.” – Matthew Bradbury, Chief Executive, Nene Park Trust

“We are celebrating 900 years of Peterborough’s history, marking the birth of our Cathedral. I am extremely proud to lead, to be part of and live in such a forward thinking, exciting city. I am also proud, as a Peterborian, to be part of the future, the same as our ancestors were when they had the vision to create and design such a magnificent building and I am determined to help develop Peterborough and carry on with what they started all those years ago.” – John Holdich, Leader of Peterborough City Council

“As one of the UK’s fastest growing cities, Peterborough’s future looks incredibly bright and we are delighted to be accommodating its expanding population with our exceptional new development Fletton Quays. Situated on the redeveloped site of the South Bank, Fletton Quays will provide high class apartments offering spectacular views of the River Nene and Peterborough’s striking skyline. Fronting onto its very own ‘urban beach’, there is no doubt that Fletton Quays will become the ultimate destination for waterside living, and will draw even more visitors to enjoy the delights Peterborough has to offer.” – Bob Weston, Chairman and CEO of Weston Homes

“For me, this is a fantastic opportunity for YMCA to celebrate the city’s young people. We’re delighted to be hosting Youth Jam in July where we take over Cathedral Square for the day, and we can’t wait to give young people the chance to take the spotlight and celebrate the diverse, dynamic youth culture of the city of Peterborough.” – Rod Allerton, Director of Development, YMCA Trinity Group

“Peterborough is committed to nurturing its talent and ensuring that young people are informed and inspired about career opportunities when they leave school. Since 2013, The Skills Service (a team within Opportunity Peterborough) has organised a fun and interactive Careers Show, showcasing what the area has to offer. This began with around 80 exhibitors and nearly 1,000 visitors in 2013 and has grown from year to year into the East of England’s largest event of its kind with over 200 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors from across the region in 2017.” – Claire Smith, Marketing Campaign Manager, The Skills Service

“We’ve got so much poetry going on in the city at the moment. Charley Genever, Peterborough’s current poet laureate, is doing incredible things. She’s been putting on loads of stuff – and I see people performing at open mics who I met when they were in year nine or ten and I came in to deliver a workshop to their class. It’s amazing to see people at these events who have been moving into it over the past five or ten years because of the poetry community and what’s been going on.” – Mark Grist, poet

“Peterborough has been a centre of culture for over 3000 years. In 2018, our Cathedral celebrates 900 years since the monks of Peterborough Abbey commenced an ambitious rebuilding programme after a devastating fire. Unsurprisingly, this was expensive and the entrepreneurial monks decided to raise the cash through establishing a new market place in its current location in Peterborough. So the Cathedral’s 900th birthday is also in many ways the city’s 900th birthday too and a fantastic opportunity to celebrate what’s unique about Peterborough’s culture.

This summer Vivacity will help the city to celebrate by showcasing some of our historic cultural artefacts. The collections in our national museums and leading universities are stuffed with items from Peterborough’s medieval past and a number of them will return to the city for a limited period in the autumn of 2018. This will be a real once-in-a-generation chance to see some truly stunning and unique objects.

Going back even further, some of the earliest cultural artefacts that can be seen in the local area are witness to Bronze Age man’s activities at Flag Fen. Every time I visit Flag Fen, I can’t fail but be astonished by the artistic metalwork created 3,000 years ago and then cast into local waters. Trade in this art is evident too with links to Scandinavia and the Mediterranean (apparently European trading was less political then than it is today…). 2018 is a great year to visit Flag Fen for the first time if you haven’t already, as we will be launching a new season ticket, meaning you can come back again and again and see the site change with the seasons. After 3000 years, will Peterborough continue to grow as a centre of culture? I wouldn’t bet against it if I were you.” – Kevin Tighe, CEO, Vivacity

“Everyone knows that Peterborough is a small city with big aspirations and nowhere is that more apparent than in its schools. Housed in some of the best buildings in education, our children and young people are vibrant and ambitious, excited about learning and committed to doing their very best to  achieve their potential. It is a privilege to serve Peterborough children and their families.” – Julie Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Deacon Education Trust

“Peterborough works with the very best partners to offer superb opportunities for children and young people. The Peterborough Centre for Young Musicians is linked to the Guildhall School of Music & Drama – one of the world’s leading conservatoires – establishing a regional centre of excellence and providing something to celebrate for years to come.” – Lisa Roberts, Head of Culture and Leisure, Peterborough City Council & Peterborough Music Hub Manager

“It’s often easy to focus on all the things that Peterborough could be doing better and where there is room for improvement. However, focusing on what we have to celebrate helps us to appreciate what we have and inspires us to make the city even better. Peterborough offers a terrific amount of green space for all its local residents – plus we have just planted 100,000 trees in the city, which is an amazing achievement! We are continuing to take steps towards improving the city for the health and wellbeing of its residents, and this is made possible by all the truly inspiring individuals, volunteers, community groups and organisations that are working together to make a difference. I’m incredibly proud of that.” – Carly Leonard, CEO of Peterborough Environment City Trust

“The Perkins Great Eastern Run is the biggest sporting event in the city, and what we did a few years ago was have the route go through our glorious city centre, which is very unusual for a road race. Not many cities would take that bold step of closing their centres down. But we have, and it’s really paid off because the commentary we get back from people running it is amazing. We have so much support from residents and the business community, and there is a real sense of excitement on the day. I’ve run it twice, as well as the London Marathon and several other half marathons. But this is up there with the London Marathon, because all along the route the residents come out and support it. I have never seen so much residential support wherever I’ve run, and we get that back from runners too. It makes me feel so proud of Peterborough and its community, because you see all ages and all cultures just enjoying it.” – Annette Joyce, Director, Perkins Great Eastern Run

“I was fascinated by Peterbrough’s story as soon as we arrived – a city with all this heritage, which I love, but also these new communities and massive growth. Fundamentally you have to have new towns, but here was this old city that was becoming a new town, which is kind of a crazy idea. I thought the question that posed was a really interesting one. And I wanted to become part of the answer.

When you come from the outside you find yourself working with all these other people who are passionate about it, and who are desperate for it to get on its feet and to make a difference. And there is this whole raft of people who kind of want things to happen but haven’t in the past quite known how to make a difference, and I think the connections are starting to be made, between different parts of the community in Peterborough. It’s about working together. It’s about partnerships.

And Peterborough has responded to that. We had hundreds of volunteers for Forty Years On, and we had nearly a hundred for Dark Earth. So, as long as people keep responding to it – with things like the Broadway theatre reopening, coupled with the work Vivacity and Metal are doing – it’s awakening people to the idea that things are going on in Peterborough, and that you don’t have to go to Leicester or down to London. They’ll still do that, but they will also see quality stuff on their own doorstep. It’s shifting the population to having a sense of how things can go right in Peterborough.” – Ivan Cutting, Director, Eastern Angles

‘There’s a lot that already marks Peterborough out as a fantastic investment location: gigabit connectivity, its proximity to London, affordable commercial spaces and its world-class businesses. With additional higher education facilities, Peterborough and its businesses will have better access to a full range of talent, from school leavers that want to be taught specific trades and skills, to groups of graduates and post-graduates that will have specialist skills across a variety of sectors and disciplines.” – Steve Bowyer, Chief Executive, Opportunity Peterborough

“I came to Peterborough in 1954 in Ernie Wise’s car. He had a car, and I didn’t – I earned about five pounds a week, it was a bit hand-to-mouth – so he gave me a lift to Peterborough where he and his wife Doreen had a house, then I hitch-hiked to Northampton where my parents were living. So, I do have a bit of a history with Peterborough. In fact, I love the place. The place I really got the bug for the theatre was the Embassy, Peterborough. I was stationed in Huntingdon, and I’d go there every Thursday night. I also played semi-pro football for
Northampton, and we played at Peterborough. There are a lot of connections with the city, so I’m really looking forward to playing there again!” – Des O’Connor

“We’ve got a thriving, multicultural community here that we’re not even beginning to tap into, but when we have our university, we will really start to motor. Ultimately, of course, this is not just about creating higher education in Peterborough for the people who live here and nearby – we’re creating a world-class institution that will draw in students from everywhere else. We mustn’t forget that education is a massive export for the UK, drawing in money from outside the EU as well as within it, and we hope that a university for Peterborough will attract people from all over the country and all over the world. Everything points to a large, thriving, independent higher education institution being key to Peterborough’s economic growth.

What we need to do is leverage what is unique and world-class about Peterborough – and there are so many things to shout about. For example, we do an archaeology degree. We are right next to Must Farm and Flag Fen and have access to those world-class finds. This is the sort of thing we need to grow and develop.”Terry Jones, Principal and CEO of Peterborough Regional College, also board member of UCP and a leading figure behind the university project

“If Must Farm is anything to go by, there must be hundreds, maybe thousands, of Bronze Age boats waiting to be found in the buried rivers of Fenland. This is the first find of many, I’m sure. I’m very optimistic about the future of the past in Peterborough. This area has as rich a heritage as anywhere in Britain, and is what Peterborough has to offer visitors. You can go from the Bronze Age, through the Romans and the fantastic objects on display in the museum, the Middle Ages and the cathedral and Longthorpe Tower, post-medieval times with the world’s first prisoner of war camp at Norman Cross – which we dug with Time Team – and through to the railway age with the Nene Valley Railway and Railworld. Very few other places can offer you quite so much history of all periods. And that is really very special and something to be very proud of.” – Francis Pryor, archaeologist, broadcaster and discoverer of Flag Fen

“I think one of the challenges with Peterborough is that it there has been this attempt to transform it and remake it anew, while on the other hand there is this extraordinary antiquity and beauty with the Cathedral. A new town has been wrapped around something very ancient and very remarkable. And I think that the only way a place like that is going to work is when there is an integration of old and new. In many places, there is a very real desire for some sort of identity, and if new Peterborough does not have an identity then by definition it has to forge a new one. But the components of history will be an absolutely fundamental part of that. The Cathedral is overwhelmingly the biggest, noblest, most striking human structure in Peterborough, impregnated with a whole range of meanings acquired across its history of a thousand years. But it also remains a functioning institution, and one you can be a part of. As a place where identities have been redefined, changed and fought over, that is almost an emblem of what will be the new England.” – Dr David Starkey, historian and broadcaster

About Peterborough Celebrates
Peterborough Celebrates will help to increase pride in the local area and showcase Peterborough on a regional and national level, which will attract more visitors. The campaign has many people and organisations to thank but none more so than one of its lead partners, Peterborough City Council. The Council has assisted in attracting other supporters and sponsors who have helped to ensure the campaign has maximum exposure throughout the year. These supporters and sponsors have donated their time, expertise and marketing collateral that’s helped Peterborough Celebrates to be as visible as possible. The campaign’s profile will continue to grow and its exposure can be as big as we want it to be, providing the offers of financial support and donations continue to be made.

If you are interested in being a part of this city-wide celebration, visit www.peterboroughcelebrates.org.uk and click to Get Involved or Donate.

Lots of activities will be taking place throughout the year and you can find out more by visiting www.peterboroughcelebrates.org.uk

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