WATCH: Two historic landmarks in Peterborough awarded grant funding from Historic England
Historic England has awarded grant funding to two significant heritage sites in Peterborough – including an 18th century prisoner burial ground.
John Clare Cottage in Helpston, the birthplace of the celebrated nature poet, has received £22,500 to fund urgent investigative works on the Grade II listed building.
A further £52,500 has been awarded for Nene Park Trust to purchase additional land at Norman Cross – the historic prisoner of war depot near Peterborough.
Tony Calladine, East of England Regional Director, Historic England, explained: “This grant funding supports the future of two of Cambridgeshire’s important heritage sites which have stories to tell on a national and international level.
"John Clare Cottage celebrates a poet who captured the beauty and fragility of the English countryside, while Norman Cross demonstrates and reminds us of the human consequences of war. This funding ensures that those stories survive and that communities can take pride in the remarkable heritage on their doorstep.”
Keira Harvey, CEO, John Clare Cottage, said: “We're delighted to have received funding from Historic England, which allows us to better understand the condition and needs of John Clare Cottage. This support helps us to protect the place where Clare spent his formative years, while sharing his powerful message of our shared and timeless right to nature.”
Matthew Bradbury, CEO of Nene Park Trust said: “We are so grateful to Historic England for providing the funding to allow us to purchase this additional piece of the Norman Cross site. By bringing the entire site under our ownership, we can ensure that even more of this scheduled monument is protected and offer further future opportunities for visitors and wider interpretation of the site.”
John Clare Cottage
John Clare was born at the cottage in 1793. His poetry documented rural English life during the enclosure period (approximately 1750 to 1860), when common land was divided for private ownership. His vivid observations of wildlife and landscape make him a pioneering voice in environmental literature.
The Grade II listed thatched cottage faces concerning conservation issues requiring specialist assessment. This funding enables detailed surveys of the building's condition, including investigation of timber decay, the effect of damp to the building and its structure.
The John Clare Trust will use the findings of the survey to develop a long-term conservation strategy for further fundraising and major repairs.
The cottage is open to visitors on selected dates. Further information is available at https://www.clarecottage.org/
Norman Cross
Historic England’s grant funding of £52,500 enables the Nene Park Trust to purchase 2.4 hectares of additional land at the Norman Cross site, bringing most of the scheduled monument under unified charitable ownership.
This builds on the acquisition of the main Norman Cross site, announced in June 2025, and funded by Historic England (£200,000) and The National Lottery Heritage Fund (£50,000).
Norman Cross opened in 1797 as Britain’s first purpose-built military prison. It housed round 7,000 European prisoners during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The site contains earthworks, buried archaeological remains and the graves of around 1,770 French, Dutch and German prisoners.
Nene Park Trust plans to open the site as a green space for Peterborough, providing wellbeing benefits for local communities and sharing the story of this remarkable historic place.