Looking back: amazing vintage photos show Peterborough swamped during Great Flood of 1912

With Storm Henk only now starting to blow itself out, and Storm Gerrit still fresh in our minds, it’s fair to say we’ve had more than our fill of wet weather recently.

Indeed, with major arteries in and around the city closed, and public transport services disrupted by localised flooding caused by heavy rain, it is likely this festive period will be remembered for being a wet Christmas rather than a white one.

However, as bad and depressing as these recent deluges have been, it’s worth keeping in mind that Peterborough has been forced to endure worse flooding events in the past – much worse, in fact.

More than a century ago, in August 1912, our region was pummeled by torrential downpours that were so heavy and prolonged that the streets of Peterborough – along with the fields, tracks, and roads of its surrounding villages – simply disappeared underwater.

Now known as the Great Flood of 1912, this monumental, almost biblical, battering was characterised by weeks of heavy downpours, including seven consecutive days of rain.

It started on August 26, when the rain started at 5.30am and didn’t stop until 7pm.

The rain hardly let up at all over the subsequent days; the worst affected areas were the Fens around Peterborough, and Norwich, where seven inches of rain fell in just over a day.

To this day, that period is listed as the worst summer month in terms of rainfall since records began.

Unsurprisingly, the impact of the deluges on people’s lives and livelihoods was immense.

Harvests across Fenland farmers’ fields were ruined, inner-city housing and businesses in Peterborough were washed out, and – thanks to parts of the Nene bursting its banks – many pathways, passageways, tracks and roads became unusable.

Indeed, the water levels at Peterborough Town Bridge were so high (around seven feet) above normal levels that there was considerable concern for the safety of the bridge at the time (although that didn’t stop scores of curious people using it as a vantage point).

Stanground was one of the worst hit areas, with some streets flooded to a depth of four feet as a result of the Lode overflowing.

When the rains did finally abate, a grateful city and its inhabitants were left to deal with a clean-up operation that took many, many months to get in top of.

Though there is, sadly, no-one around now to give us personal insight into the Great Flood of 1912, we do have some incredible photos taken at the time that provide an idea of just how destructive this landmark event really was.

So, shake down your brolly, kick off those wellies, and cosy on up with us as we showcase these wonderful images from over a hundred years ago courtesy of our friends at Peterborough Images Archive.