Civic Pride: 10 things to look out for in Peterborough
As regular readers know I take every opportunity to promote and celebrate Peterborough, whilst recognising that it isn’t always a bed or roses, writes Toby Wood, of Peterborough Civic Society.
But when you go into somewhere like Cathedral Square, Bridge Street or Long Causeway, you’ll find that it’s so much better than it was 50 years ago. There’s no traffic so it’s quieter, there’s far less smoke, smog and pollution so the buildings themselves are cleaner and, best of all pedestrians can stroll around the streets without having to worry about being knocked down.
The large, imposing features are easy to identify and promote – the Cathedral, Guildhall, river Nene, Lido, Town Hall and GGG are all easy to spot and promote themselves by their very size alone.
So today I would like to identify and celebrate some the smaller things in the city centre, some of the things that are easily overlooked but which still contribute greatly to our character.
Consequently I have identified 10 features for you to look out for. Here goes!
1. On the mock-Tudor façade of the Pizza Express building in Cathedral Square are five brightly painted life-sized plaster statues sculpted by Gilbert Seale & Son of Camberwell, London. They depict Athelwold (Bishop of Winchester), King Peada of Mercia, Henry VIII (central figure), Prince Rupert and The Earl of Essex. They look old but were in fact incorporated when the building was built in 1911.
2. If you are a Posh supporter you will already know about the 8-foot Chris Turner statue outside the London Road ground, if you’ve never seen it, it certainly merits a visit. The statue, made by sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn, was installed in 2017 and shows Posh’s ex-player, captain, manager and owner with his thumb up in celebration of the great Wembley triumph from 1991
3. In Long Causeway there is a modern circular pavement memorial dedicated to the poet John Clare (1793–1864). It consists of a large circular design surrounded by curved wooden benches. The outer ring is inscribed with lines from Clare’s poem ‘All Nature Has a Feeling’.
4. The black rectangular plaque on the front of Peterscourt in City Road is unique. It is the only one of its type installed by The Peterborough Society, the forerunner of the Civic Society. Peterscourt was once a teacher training college.
5. If you walk west down Cowgate towards Crescent Bridge, about half way down on your left you will see No.34, Nelson House and, high up in a niche on the second floor is a bust of Lord Horatio Nelson. It certainly merits searching out for its curiosity value alone.
6. This is a bit of an odd one! Inside what used to be WH Smith, now TG Jones, in Bridge Street is a rather nice tile with the picture of the west front of the Cathedral. Go to the back of the store, past the Post Office (while it’s still there) and just before you go up the steps to leave at the back of the store, look left and there you will notice the tile on the wall. I’d love to know who thought of the idea to place it here!
7. At the back of what is now the Museum in Priestgate, there are two black and white painted signs on the brickwork. These relate to the time, from 1857-1928, when the building was a hospital and contained a rudimentary operating theatre. One of the signs reads, ‘Discard Outer Clothing And Place In Bins’, an instruction that I have never obeyed! There is another sign nearby but you’ll just have to visit to read it for yourself!
8. On Cathedral Square, just before you enter the Cathedral precincts, on the right you will find an old lamp standard and information plaque which commemorates the first electric streetlight to be installed in Peterborough in 1903. The lamp standard was relocated from the original location in Stanley Road Recreation Ground and is one of only three remaining similar lamps in Peterborough. The coat of arms on the lamp standard appeared between 1847 and 1923 and shows the crossed keys of the City of Peterborough and the crossed swords of the Dean of Chapter.
9. In Cowgate look out for pavement wayfinding markers (bronze/metal discs set into the ground which highlight the pedestrian route between the Cathedral and railway station. The city is improving this connection - the Station Quarter/City Link project aims to make the route clearer, safer, and more direct - and these discs form part of the existing wayfinding for visitors heading between the historic Cathedral and the main railway station.
10. In what is now known as Lower Bridge Street, near the entrance to Rivergate shopping centre, you will find the sculpture dedicated to Henry Penn (1685-1729), a bellfounder who, despite dying young, cast over 250 bells that were installed in churches, houses, schools and other building around the country.
So there we have it – 10 lesser known city centre views for you to look out for, all within easy walking distance of Cathedral Square. See if you can find them all – I challenge you!