LOOKING BACK: Familiar scenes, but plenty has changed

The first picture taken from Cathedral Square looking towards the cathedral. Although the road into the precincts was closed on the day the photograph was taken (you can make out the sign) vehicles had access through the gates.

Was this a through route or was access restricted?

The picture was taken in 1981.

The next photograph is of ower Bridge Street with the Elephant & Castle pub – which was previously located in Westgate – in the foreground.

Does anyone know when the pub closed? This picture was taken in 1983.

The third picture is the familiar scene of the recently revamped Bourges Boulevard.

Much of the surrounding area and the road itself has changed significantly since the picture which was taken in 1980.

Despite being an inner city dual carriageway it looks strangely idyllic – maybe it’s the lack of traffic.

The fourth picture is also of lower Bridge Street taken from a pre-pedestrianised Bridge Street. It was taken on a rainy day in 1979.

The familiar building of the magistrates court is on the left and you can just make out the sign of the last store on the left hand side of Bridge Streeet as Hardy & Co Furnishing.

If you have any pictures, information or memories please get in touch.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

A look back at stories from the Peterborough Telegraph archives – some sad, some happy, some serious, some funny

I came across the intriguing and puzzling picture of a group of people near the cathedral. My best guess was that a large gravestone had toppled over.

Fortunately the photograph had a date on the back, Thursday February 5, 1976, which led me to that day’s newspaper in our archives.

The mystery was solved – it was a spirelet that had toppled from the cathedral after the city was hit by hurricane-strength winds.

The huge block of masonry landed in the gardens of the Bishop’s Palace but thankfully no one was hurt.

The picture seems rather odd in that even those attempting to move part of the spirelet look like passers-by. These days such a scene would have been cordoned off and the emergency services on hand.

The story also featured another dramatic picture of a second spirelet on the west tower which had been disturbed by the winds and was perched precariously. The Telegraph reported that workmen were able to manoeuvre it to safety.

The damage had been done on the night of Friday, January 2, when winds of up to 105mph hit the city causing death and destruction.

Tragically, a Peterborough lorry driver died at Mason’s Bridge when a tree hit his truck, and another man died at Gedney Hill when a garage roof collapsed on top of him.

FEEDBACK

Plenty of you got in touch about this splendid picture from the early 60s of the then Mayor of Peterborough Cllr Charles Swift and the civic car with its iconic EG1 number plate.

Richard Willimont was one and he had some interesting background information.

He wrote: “The mayoral car is an Austin Princess limousine, which was supplied by my late father Geoff Willimont, when he worked for Sam Robbins in Coventry, who were Austin distributors, way before British Leyland.

“It could be the one prior to that, that he supplied when working for Marshalls, then in Bridge Street, Peterborough.’’