Civic Pride: Defining Peterborough’s heritage

We are all encouraged to celebrate our heritage, protect our heritage, promote our heritage. But just what is heritage?

In Dictionaryland it is described as ‘the full range of inherited traditions, monuments, objects and cultures’. Heritage is also beliefs, customs, acquired knowledge, social traditions and arts. I could go on. And it’s people that generate and value those traditions and carry them wherever they go.

Just look at Peterborough.

Over the last hundred years people have arrived in the city from all corners of the United Kingdom and beyond – people have moved to Peterborough from the Fens, Yorkshire, London, Italy, Ireland, Poland, the Caribbean, India, Pakistan, Vietnam and more. Both sets of my grandparents moved to the city in the 1930s from Yorkshire and Birmingham. It could be argued that here is no such thing as a ‘traditional Peterborian’. We are all incomers, recent or otherwise.

Much has been written about Ukrainians and how they can be supported to win this continuing, terrible war.

Ironically Peterborough has had Ukrainian communities since the 1940s, long before many of us were aware of modern Ukraine. The list of people coming to Peterborough is long and encompasses many heritages and traditions and will undoubtedly do so in the future.

Some people, wrongly in my view, look upon heritage as keeping things the same. ‘Things were much better in the old days”, they might say. To which I might reply, “No they weren’t!” Just because we have a splendid Cathedral, iconic Guildhall and, despite what people say, attractive Cathedral Square that doesn’t mean that much of old and now vanished Peterborough was as pretty as a picture. Just look at some of the photographs collected on the excellent Peterborough Images website and you will see dour, rundown, and in some cases dilapidated pre-Queensgate city centre housing – look up Reform Street, Milton Street and St Leonard’s Street to see what I mean.

Heritage is as much about people as anything else – perhaps that’s where the city’s strength lies.

The key to a strong and vibrant city, Peterborough or anywhere else for that matter, is how well we celebrate our different heritages whilst simultaneously looking to together drive our city forward in a coherent and cohesive way.

At one time Peterborough had a Heritage Festival, and very successful it was too, attracting people from near and far to look at Roman soldiers, a Civil War battle or to enjoy demonstrations of such ancient crafts as basket weaving or pottery. Sadly the Festival has not taken place over the past few years but a little bird tells me that it may be happening again in 2024.

Its return would be a very welcome addition to Peterborough’s cultural calendar. I fondly remember seeing a Roman soldier walking along Long Causeway hand in hand with a Tudor maiden. Now that’s what I call cultural (and historical) diversity!

Stuart Orme, the sometime Peterborough ‘Mr Museum’ once told me that the re-enactors themselves love coming to Peterborough to meet and mingle with ‘ordinary’ folk, people who haven’t paid £25 per carload to enter a swanky stately home.

Peterborough doesn’t stand still. It never has done and it never will. The question that has to be asked is, “what do we want our city to look and feel like in the future - 2030 and beyond”? What heritage are we going to leave for our children, grandchildren and subsequent generations? And how do we make them proud of us, proud of their heritage?

On Monday 24 April the Civic Society’s next monthly talk is ‘Following in Vermuden’s Footsteps, a talk given by Nicola Oldfield, Project Manager at the Environment Agency. All are welcome at this event which starts at 7.30pm at St Marks’ Church Hall PE1 2SN. The talk is free to members and costs a £5.00 suggested donation for non-members. All welcome – see you there!