Peterborough has always had its share of fascinating characters, but few were quite as unforgettable as Ethel Granger.
Born at Milton, near Cambridge, in 1905, Ethel became world famous after appearing in the Guinness Book of Records for having the smallest recorded waist. In 1939, her waist was measured in Peterborough at just 13 inches, following a ten-year reduction from 22 inches.
Yet Ethel’s story is far more than one extraordinary record. A trained dressmaker and tailor, she became a skilled corsetier and developed a striking personal style that made her one of the most distinctive figures of her time. She rode a motorcycle, toured Britain with her husband, William Arnold Granger, and embraced multiple ear piercings long before body modification became part of mainstream fashion or alternative culture.
Ethel and William lived at 58 Priory Road, Peterborough. William, known as Bill, was a teacher, headmaster, astronomer, and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. From his home observatory, he studied the night sky, photographed celestial events including Comet Bennett in 1970, and helped inspire generations of local stargazers through the Peterborough Astronomical Society.
The couple were remembered as remarkable Peterborough characters: creative, unconventional, intelligent, and deeply individual. Bill was rarely seen without his cat, Treacle Pudding, perched on his shoulder, while Ethel’s corseted silhouette and self-fashioned identity made her a pioneer of personal expression.
Ethel Granger’s life belongs to the wonderfully odd, colourful, and human side of Peterborough’s history. She reminds us that local history is not only made by kings, cathedrals, battles, and grand buildings. Sometimes it is made by people who lived differently, dressed differently, looked up at the stars, and left behind stories that still make us stop, smile, and say: “Only in Peterborough.”