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...
Peterborough has the oldest written account of the Wild Hunt anywhere in England, and the monks who recorded it were quite sure of what they had heard. In 1127 a Norman abbot named Henry de Angeli arrived to take charge of the abbey. The monks disliked him from the...
Visitors to Peterborough Cathedral’s Travelling Bricks exhibition are invited to uncover a hidden treasure and win fantastic city centre prizes in the exciting Golden Brick Challenge! Families will be invited to join a unique challenge that brings together creativity,...
Ever heard of Cable Wakeboarding? It’s like snowboarding, but on water; like waterskiing, but without the boat; like a skateboard park but with a softer landing - there’s many ways you could describe it - but all you really need to know is it’s a really fun and...
Rich Simmons is a Peterborough-born British artist known for his bold pop-art style, street art, and playful use of comic-book imagery. His work blends nostalgia, humour, social commentary, and striking colour, earning him recognition in galleries and public spaces in...
Jodie Turner-Smith is an internationally acclaimed actress and model whose career has taken her from Peterborough to Hollywood. Known for her striking screen presence and powerful performances, Turner-Smith has become one of the most recognisable British actors of her...
William Speechly was a pioneering English horticulturist, writer, and agricultural innovator whose work transformed fruit cultivation in Georgian Britain. Born near Peterborough in 1735, probably at Orton Longueville, he came from a local family rooted in the rural...
Few writers have captured the strange atmosphere of the Fens quite like E. G. Swain. Born Edmund Gill Swain in 1861, he was an English clergyman, antiquarian, and author whose name became closely associated with the golden age of the classic English ghost story....
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...
This summer, Peterborough Cathedral will become the setting for Travelling Bricks, an extraordinary globally touring exhibition made from over one million LEGO® bricks, combined with hands-on interactive experiences designed for families to create, explore, and play...
Adrian Lyne is a Peterborough-born film director, producer and screenwriter whose work helped define the look and mood of mainstream cinema in the 1980s and 1990s. Born in Peterborough in 1941, Lyne was raised in London and educated at Highgate School. He began his...
J. D. Beresford, born John Davys Beresford in 1873, was an English novelist, critic and early science fiction writer with strong connections to the Peterborough area. He was born in Castor, just outside Peterborough, where his father, John James Beresford, was Rector...
Neil Hubbard is a British guitarist whose playing has threaded through some of the most memorable moments in rock, pop, soul and jazz-funk. Born in 1948, Hubbard was educated at The King’s School in Peterborough, where he was a boarder. It was there that his interest...
David Lammy is a British politician, barrister and author whose journey from Tottenham to some of the highest offices in government has made him one of the most recognisable figures in contemporary British public life. Born in London in 1972 to Guyanese parents, Lammy...
Gray Jolliffe is a British illustrator and cartoonist whose distinctive humour and visual style have made him a recognisable figure in British publishing and popular culture. Born Graham Jolliffe in 1937, he studied at The King’s School in Peterborough before...
Professor Frank Close OBE FRS is one of Peterborough’s most distinguished scientific figures. Born in Peterborough in 1945 and educated at The King’s School, he went on to become an internationally respected theoretical particle physicist, author and communicator of...
Pete Boizot was one of Peterborough’s great originals: an entrepreneur, philanthropist, arts supporter, football club owner, jazz lover and passionate champion of his home city. Born in Peterborough in 1929, Peter James Boizot grew up in the city and attended The...
Hidden above the bustle of Queensgate Shopping Centre, there’s a piece of Peterborough that time almost forgot. On 24th April, thanks to the Queensgate management team, members of the Discover Peterborough team were given rare access to a set of historic rooms above...
A quiet but remarkable part of Peterborough Cathedral is offering a rare glimpse into the city’s past, as interest grows in the Cathedral Library and Archive and the stories it holds. As part of ongoing work to uncover and share Peterborough’s lesser-seen heritage,...
These beautiful paintings by Roy Butchart (1 March 1925 – 27 April 2016) aren’t on public display, so for many people, this may be the first time they've seen his work. That makes them feel even more special – a hidden thread of local artistic heritage, quietly...
Walter Cornelius was born in 1923 into a Latvia that was, for a brief and precious moment, at peace. The country had declared independence in 1918, and the years that followed brought a fragile but genuine stability. For Walter's family, life on a Latvian farm was...
Imagine an encyclopaedia of the natural world — lions, camels, serpents, dolphins, dragons and unicorns — painted in brilliant colours, shimmering with gold leaf, and imbued with moral lessons drawn from every creature it portrays. Created in Peterborough around...
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Longthorpe is one of Peterborough’s most extraordinary historic sites. Longthorpe Tower may appear modest from the outside, but within its walls lies a rare and remarkable collection of medieval wall paintings that have survived for...
At the heart of Dinosaur City, an extraordinary sight awaits. A colossal Titanosaur — one of the largest creatures ever to walk the Earth — takes centre stage inside the stunning surroundings of Peterborough Cathedral. Standing beneath its vast frame, you begin to...