News & Inspiration

Almost £700,000 of new funding will support urgent archaeological work at Flag Fen, where falling groundwater is threatening some of Peterborough’s most important Bronze Age remains. Discover why the site survived for thousands of years, what archaeologists still hope to learn and why the next major discovery may still be beneath the fen.

Mary, Queen of Scots returns to the Cathedral that first held her grave. From 21 September to 15 November 2026, Peterborough Cathedral hosts a major exhibition exploring her extraordinary life through original artefacts, reproductions, immersive scenes and one uniquely powerful setting.

Peterborough produced three extraordinary musicians whose influence travelled far beyond their fame. Discover how Sir Thomas Armstrong, James Blades OBE and Don Lusher OBE helped shape British music, from the Royal Academy and Benjamin Britten to the BBC, the Rank gong, Ted Heath and Frank Sinatra.

The earliest recorded “sh” form that became the modern word “she” appears in the Peterborough Chronicle. From Katharine of Aragon and Lily Violet Bryant to Marjorie Pollard, Daphne Jackson, Debbie Sellin and Shabina Qayyum, discover the women connected with Peterborough who broke barriers and opened doors.

What do you call someone from Peterborough? The answer is Peterborian. Discover the history of the word, from Medeshamstede and Petriburgian traditions to the modern civic identity of a city shaped by generations of arrivals.

What connects a Helpston poet, an Eyebury farmer and a Farcet schoolteacher? John Clare looked at the landscape, Alfred Leeds beneath it and George Alcock into the sky. Together they reveal a remarkable Peterborough habit: looking harder than everyone else.

Hereward the Wake is remembered as one of England’s great rebels, but Peterborough knew another side of him. Discover the real history, the 1070 raid on the abbey, the folklore that followed, Charles Kingsley’s Victorian reinvention and David Pinner’s 1974 Key Theatre play.

Two Peterborough-born creatives helped shape two of cinema’s most unforgettable films. Discover how David Pinner inspired The Wicker Man and Adrian Lyne directed the Oscar-nominated thriller Fatal Attraction.

For nearly fifty years, the quickest walk from Peterborough station into the city centre ran through a pair of concrete subways beneath the Queensgate roundabout. They closed for good on Monday 6 July 2026. Most of the people who used them over the decades had no idea...

To mark the birthday of celebrated poet and environmentalist John Clare, John Clare Cottage is delighted to announce that, from this week, all visitors aged under 25 will be able to visit the historic cottage free of charge. John Clare’s own education was...